


Mine

by xxdrarryrebellexx



Series: Their Family [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Andromeda is kind of a bitch, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Drarry, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Good Draco Malfoy, How Do I Tag, I LOVE DRARRY OKAY, Lil Scorp, Little Scorpius is cute AF, M/M, Made For Each Other, Professor Harry Potter, Ravenclaw Scorpius Malfoy, Self-Indulgent, Single Parent Draco Malfoy, Their Family - Freeform, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 22:33:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 45,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12803823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxdrarryrebellexx/pseuds/xxdrarryrebellexx
Summary: Harry Potter works as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, but while picking Teddy up from the Primary Wizard Academy he notices a young crying child and decides to help.Draco Malfoy has had a pretty hard time trying to raise his son since his wife's death. While signing his son up for classes at the Primary Wizard Academy the young boy happens to wander away, luckily the Golden Boy is always there to help.Can they let the past be in the past to forge a better future?"Whose kid is this?""He's mine, Potter.""No, seriously..."





	1. -1-

A chime sounded through Number 12 Grimmauld Place letting Harry Potter know he had someone attempting to give him a Floo Call. He sat up on the couch groggily and ran a hand through his hair before standing and waving his wand over the mantle in order to open the network and accept the call. Andromeda's face appeared shortly after with a small smile.

 

"Harry, would you pick up Teddy today? I'm not feeling well."

 

"Of course, you know I don't mind. Do you need me to come through and prepare some soup or something?"

 

"Harry you couldn't cook if your life depended on it, sweetheart," she spoke softly before having a small coughing fit. "I'll be fine. I just need to rest for a few days." Harry looked concerned but nodded anyway.

 

"I can keep Teddy for a few days, I'm still on paid leave from work because of the last surprise interview and all the work I've been assisting the aurors with." He put a hand to his forehead and slid it slowly down the rest of his face.

 

"You may as well just be an auror, Harry."

 

"I know it pays well, but I really like teaching. It's a better pace." He shrugged then took on a concerned face yet again. "Are you sure you don't want me to call St. Mungos or anything?"

 

"I promise I just need to rest, Harry. I don't need you to play savior today. Just take care of Teddy." Harry nodded and Andromeda yawned before removing herself from the flames. He watched the green flames flicker out before looking at his somewhat old wristwatch to check the time.

He still had an hour or so before school was out, but it had been a while since Teddy stayed with him so he decided he could pick the little guy up early. What could possibly be going on in fourth grade?

Harry got himself dressed and threw on his plain robe before rushing out the door replacing the wards and moving to the apparation point on the sidewalk in front of the house. He focused on the thought of the elementary school he just recently found out existed since his graduation from Hogwarts. The name had been changed after the war and was now  _Dumbledore Primary Wizards Academy_. It was a public school fir young wizards whose parents couldn't or refused to homeschool their children. Although the students were too young to be taught magic they were taught of it's existence and teachers used magic as a tool during lessons.

He finally grasped a clear image of the school and felt the familiar tug that let him know he was in the midst of apparating. Once he landed he had to take a moment to steady himself, no matter how often he did it, it still seemed to catch him off guard. Maybe that's why he wasn't an auror.

He quickly walked up to the building, already planning on taking Teddy for ice cream. It wasn't yet the end of summer and Harry was going to help his godson enjoy all of it, even if they did have homework and lesson plans to get done. He headed for the office and quickly signed Teddy out then made his way to the classroom to watch a little of the class.

It didn't take long for him to find Teddy once he peeped into the window. Teddy was seated in the far corner away from the rest of the class, facing the wall with flaming red hair while the rest of the class was watching the teacher explain fractions using her wand to write the numbers in the air. He sighed and raised his hand to knock on the door, this always happened. Before Harry could knock he felt a faint tugging on his pants and heard a small sniffle. He looked down to find a head of pale blonde hair and huge, watery, startling grey eyes.

"Well hello," Harry spoke with a smile. The kid was crying a tad too much to speak so he waved and tried to stop himself from sobbing. Big boys didn't cry. His daddy told him that when he was begging his daddy not to send him to school before they left the manor. Harry squatted down until he was around eye level with the child. "What's your name, little guy?" Harry assumed it was a little  _guy_ , but the kid was in serious need of a haircut.

"S-Scorp'us." The kid rubbed his eye with his fist then wiped his running nose with the sleeve of his own robe which Harry had to admit looked very well kept up and probably designer. He chuckled at the thought.  _Who would put a kid in designer robes? "_ W-what's your's?" Woah, and the kid had manners.

"My name is Harry."

 

"Nice t-to meet you 'Arry."

 

"Nice to meet you too, Scorpius. So uh how old are you?"

 

"My d-daddy says I'm p-practic'ly 5 and 3/4." Harry nods while smiling at the little boy.

 

"Wow, really?"

 

" _Really_ really! My daddy doesn't lie," said Scorpius wiping away the last of his tears and looking wide eyed but seriously at Harry.

 

"Do you mind if I called you Scorp?"

 

"No. That's what my daddy calls me sometimes too, but he says Scorp'us is more extinguished." Harry laughed at the child.

 

"I think you mean  _distinguished."_ Scorpius just shrugged while wiping at his nose.

 

"I don't know. Daddy uses big words a lot. He says I'll learn them all when I'm older."

 

"Well, your daddy's right. Now, can you tell me why you were crying before?" Harry asked tilting his head to the side slightly. This kid looked familiar.

 

"I was 'posed to be waiting for Daddy in that boring room with the the huge desk, but I saw some pretty sparklers headed this way to one of the rooms down here. I forget which one, b-but then I couldn't find my way back..." His bottom lip began to tremble and his face went a tad bit pink as though he were about to cry again. Harry stood and lifted him off the ground, placing him on his hip easily.

"Lucky for you, I know exactly where you're supposed to be." He lightly tapped Scorpius' nose and the kid giggled and smiled, showing a mouth of pearly whites only missing one tooth off to the left side on the top. He wrapped his arms tightly around Harry's neck in a hug.

 

"Thank you 'Arry!"

 

"No problem, Scorp." This kid was just too cute. Harry decided to take Scorpius back to the office, then come back for Teddy. Something was special about Scorpius. He was adorable without a doubt, and he was really confident for a 5 year old, not to mention he just seemed so familiar to Harry, but he had no idea why.


	2. -2-

"So 'Arry, are you a daddy too? Is that why you're here?" Asked Scorpius, tilting his head to the side in a confused manner.

 

"Not exactly, but I do have a godson so I guess it's kind of the same thing. I was picking him up for the weekend." Harry said looking at the boy and rubbing his neck awkwardly with one hand while he held Scorpius on his waist with the other.

 

"I wish my daddy would take me somewhere for the weekend. We always sit in the manor and do lessons." The boy stuck out his bottom lip.

 

"Well that would explain why you're so smart." At the sound of that a huge grin broke across Scorpius' face.

 

"My daddy says I'm really quite bright for my age." Harry nodded at him.

 

"Your daddy's right." At that he walked into the office.

 

\--------

 

"Mr. Malfoy, you must understand it is a bit too late in the school year to sign young Scorpius up." Said the headmistress of the small wizarding school, Agatha Cromwell  ** _(i couldn't resist)._**

"I fully understand that Headmaster Cromwell. That is why I'm signing him up for  _next_  year. He currently does home school lessons, I just wanted to be sure I wasn't late for the upcoming term." Draco Malfoy had aged well. His pointed features were less pronounced and more angular. His hair was slightly longer and no longer slicked back to his head, but gelled back loosely to give him a neatly tousled look.

He sat back in the seat in front of the headmaster in a dark grey button down with a casual black blazer and black trousers. He crossed his legs while lightly tapping his loafer clad feet.

"Oh no, if you really are here for next term you're quite early actually. I must admit I do love your eagerness to get him into school, but why here?"

 

"Well mostly because this school has a strict policy against discrimination based on the war." He saw her smiling face falter for a moment as her eyes fell to the tightly pressed sleeve on his forearm then snapped her gaze back up to him. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, I have the dark mark, but I didn't agree with a lot of things  _he_ did. I just wanted to make my father proud and I guess, at first, I did."

 

"I'm sorry, I wasn't prying and I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Draco rolled his eyes again because it was obvious the opposite was true. "And you are right of course: We do have a non-discrimination rule set in place. I promise Scorpius will feel right at home with the other students when he arrives next term. You can go fetch him from the lobby so that we can begin the group interview. I love to see how the little ones feel about starting school." A huge smile took over her face and her eyes shone with a renewed purpose.

Draco gave her a small smile back and stood, heading into the office lobby to get Scorp. He walked down a short hallway and turned but the lobby was empty. He began to panic.  _Did someone take him? Is the non-discriminatory act just a false pretense?_ Just as he was about to lose his Malfoy cool the door to the office was opened and he saw a small head of that bright blonde hair.

He was surprised to say the least when he noticed that Scorpius was being held, he was pretty shy around new people. What was even more surprising was the mess of dark hair and glasses that carried him in. Draco hadn't seen the golden boy in person since his trial 8 years prior, but he could admit Harry Potter had gotten even more fit. His face had become more structured, His hair was combed back, but it was still an altogether windswept, bed-head mess. He wore a deep red almost burgundy fitted t-shirt with a pair of khakis and a pair of clean white trainers. Draco couldn't speak as he watched Scorpius giggle at something Potter had whispered to him, before walking up to the desk.

"Uh, excuse me. Whose kid is this?" Draco rolled his eyes and scoffed.  _Obviously he's still classless._ He thought before stepping forward.

 

"He's mine, Potter," Draco said crossing his arms as the man looked at him for the first time in years.

 

"No, seriously..." He started, but at the sound of his father's voice Scorpius looked up, he nodded at Harry who put him down and watched the small boy walk slowly to his father.

 

"I got lost, Daddy. Sorry," he started while looking down at his shoes. "But 'Arry brought me back to you! He's really nice Daddy!" He finished, more excited than before and now turning his huge grey eyes on his father. Draco was surprised, but he still smiled down at his son.

 

"It's fine Scorp, I know you like to wander. Just try not to go too far next time. Okay?" Scorpius nodded and Harry spoke up.

 

"He wasn't that far just around the corner, I just think he forgot to pay attention." Draco seemed to tense up while looking up but away from Harry uncomfortably.

 

"Yeah, he has a bit of an attention issue."

 

"Oh, no need to get all tense," said Harry as though they were old friends and not ex-rivals. "My godson has ADHD too. I was here to get him actually when I ran into lil' Scorp, here. His teacher has him sitting in a corner for something again." Potter shrugged while rolling his eyes as though him and Draco had these talks all the time.

When Draco didn't respond Harry kept talking.

"I don't think that would be a problem with Scorp, though. He's really quite smart and he has excellent manners. Teddy's almost 10 and sometimes he forgets to say please and thank you. Not to mention he has a bit of a temper when he can't focus. I'm actually surprised I didn't know he was your son. He looks just like a little mini you..."

 

"Potter, you're rambling." Draco said with a small smile tugging on the edge of his lips. Harry blushed slightly then smiled.

 

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Well I should probably go get Teddy before he gets sent out again. It was nice to see you again, Malfoy. You look good." He looked down and smiled at mini Malfoy next. "Nice meeting you Scorp." Before he could leave Scorpius looked back at his father then launched himself towards the brunette, hugging his legs tightly and grinning up at him.

 

"Thank you for helping me find my daddy, 'Arry. It was nice meeting you too." Scorpius was rushing his words together Harry understood. He crouched down a bit and hugged Scorpius.

 

"Anytime, little man." He stood and ruffled Scorpius' hair then threw another smile at the larger Malfoy before turning and walking out of the office to finally receive Teddy.


	3. -3-

When Harry turned the corner he was met with Teddy and his teacher standing in the hallway. He sped his pace a little and placed a hand on Teddy's shoulder drawing the teacher's attention to him.

"Hello Mr. Potter," she said, blushing at being caught in the middle of chastising a student. Harry had forgotten her name but smiled all the same.

 

"Mind if I take him off your hands for the day?" He asked squeezing Teddy's shoulder lightly. The woman nodded, going even redder.

 

"O-Of course."

 

"Thank you so much. Happy Friday. I'll be waiting by the office go grab your stuff and we can go. Okay?" He directed the last part at Teddy who nodded minutely and followed the teacher into the classroom. Harry walked back to the office after he noted Teddy's hair had calmed from the loud alarm red to his usual warm brown. He wondered to himself what had made the young boy so upset.

Inside the office Draco sat next to Scorpius who was in the middle of telling the Headmaster how much he liked her office and why he wanted to go to school and what he liked to learn in his current lessons. Headmistress Cromwell nodded with a huge smile on her face and when he finished talking she made sure to make eye contact.

"You're a very bright young boy, Scorpius." He giggled at that and she looked slightly confused.

 

"My daddy thinks so too! And so does 'Arry!"

 

"Who's Harry, dear?" She asked. Draco cleared his throat.

 

"He met Potter in the halls earlier." She nodded at that but never missed a beat.

 

"Well if Harry and your Father say it, then it must be true." She stated, closing up his files where she had been keeping paperwork and notes on having him enter the school.

 

"Well you said it too, Headmistress. Am I really that bright?" He asked wth huge eyes and a seriously curious expression. Draco looked over at his son.  _Isn't he too young for self doubt?_

 

"Absolutely." He heard Cromwell tell Scorp who now had the biggest grin on his face.

 

"Thank you, Headmistress." He smiled up at her then looked at his father. "Daddy, can we go out for ice cream today? It's Friday! We can double up on lessons tomorrow. Pleaseeeee." Draco fondly patted the top of Scorpius' head.

 

"As soon as we're done here, Scorp," Draco said before sitting back in his seat again, recrossing his legs and looking up towards Cromwell.

 

"No problems. We can be done here, Mr. Malfoy. Just remember to send in his vaccination paperwork before the start of school and we may need you to sign a few things or show a few papers based on what you told me earlier," she motioned towards his arm. "Other than that, I will be glad to accept Scorpius into classes next term. It was very nice to speak with you both." She smiled at them again before standing and shaking their hands.

 

"It was nice speaking to you too, ma'am," Scorpius said before heading out of the office and back into the lobby.

 

"I can't thank you enough Headmaster Cromwell. Have a nice day," Draco nodded towards her then made his way into the lobby only to find that Scorpius was nowhere to be found. "Oh not again..."

 

As soon as Draco stepped out of the lobby and into the hall his breath caught in his throat. Potter stood there with Scorpius on his hip and what seemed to be a smaller version of himself. When he finally noticed Draco standing there he sat the small blonde on the ground and smiled at his father.

 

"Sorry, he saw me standing out here waiting for Teddy and I couldn't just leave'em." Harry rubbed the back of his neck with the lopsided grin sitting wonderfully on his face. Draco shook his head.

 

"Don't worry about it, Potter. I'm assuming this must be Teddy?" He motioned towards the boy who made his way to stand behind Potter with blush stained cheeks. He almost missed it when the boys hair flashed dirty blonde then back to normal. "He's a Metamorphmagus then? I think I had an estranged cousin who was one as well." Harry nodded.

 

"Yeah, that would have been his mum, Nymphadora." He coughed a little and looked down. "Everybody called her Tonks though, but with the war and everything..." Harry turned to the 9 year old behind him. "Hey Teddy would you like to meet your Cousin Draco?" Teddy nodded and stepped around his godfather, making his hair a shade of striking blonde just like Malfoy's and allowing his dark hazel eyes to lighten to a soft set blue-grey.

 

"Hi, Cousin Draco. My name is Teddy Lupin. I don't get to meet many family members." He stuck his hand out to a surprised Draco who shook his hand solidly.

 

"H-hello Teddy, I'm Draco Malfoy. If I remember correctly, I believe my mum and your grandmother are sisters." Teddy looked at him in awe.

 

"Wow, so you're like my real family. I mean, Uncle Harry is my real family too, but you're like blood family. I've never met any blood family other than my Gam*." At this point Scorpius ran over to where Teddy was standing in front of his father and grabbed his shirt.

 

"So does this mean we can't be friends anymore, Teddy? I don't have many friends." Scorpius looked like he were about to cry but Teddy shook his head and smiled wide at the little boy before getting his hair to change back into the dark floppy mess he imitated whenever Harry took care of him.

 

"Of course we're still friends, Scorpius, but now we get to be family too! I don't have many friends either. They all think I'm weird..." He looked down blushing.

 

"I don't think you're weird. I think you're awesome!" Teddy smiled at Scorpius then made his way to Harry.

 

"Can we invite them out to the pitch with us tomorrow, Uncle Harry?" Harry shrugged.

 

"Nothing wrong with asking." He smiled over at Malfoy. "So what d'you say, Malfoy?  Wanna have a round of Quidditch tomorrow morning?"

 

"I work mornings, Potter. Not to mention Scorpius has double lessons tomorrow."

 

"Tomorrow's Saturday and we can go in the afternoon. It's no longer a question." He happily smiled and picked up Scorpius. "You guys are coming to the pitch with us. Hey, Scorp do you know how to fly yet?"

 

"No, but Daddy says I can have a broom once I'm 6," the little boy spoke looking at Harry with those beautiful doe eyes. Harry nodded.

 

"Brilliant." He set Scorpius down and then ruffled the boys hair. "I guess we'll see you guys tomorrow." He sent both Malfoy's that lopsided grin and then grabbed Teddy's hand and began walking with him out the door. Scorpius looked up at his father with a large grin and hopeful eyes.

 

"Can we get ice cream now, Daddy?"

 

Draco nodded, but he knew his breathing was quicker and he could feel his heart hammering away in his chest.  _A day out with Potter. How bad can it be?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Gam: Grandma


	4. -4-

Draco grabbed his son's hand then walked out to an apparation point. He picked him up and held him tightly before feeling the familiar pull in his gut and heading off into the direction of the nearest ice cream parlor. When they appeared he placed his son down and brushed the front of his small robes off.

"What flavor would you like," he asked while grabbing his sons hand and swinging it playfully.

 

"Apple Pie!" Draco laughed at his son and nodded. The kid had a thing for apples and chocolate. It was quite adorable if he said so himself. They made their way to the muggle ice cream parlor and walk inside letting the bell ring as the door closed behind them. He looked up from his son and caught the eye of a certain brunette.

Across the parlor in a round booth sat Potter and his godson. Harry had looked up when the bell chimed and caught Malfoy's gaze almost immediately. He motioned for the blondes to join them. He noticed a blush take over Malfoy's cheeks but he headed in their direction anyway. He allowed Scorpius to climb into the seat next to Harry then sat across from him.

"If I would have known you were coming here we could have apparated together," Harry said.

 

"Oh, its no problem. I like surprises," Malfoy lied before standing and going to order the ice cream. When he finally got to the front of the line he order a small apple pie cone with 2 scoops and a plain vanilla for himself.

 

"That'll be 5.23," The cashier looked at him expectantly. He reached in his pocket heading for the galleons before remembering where he was and pulling out a five and a one in muggle money before handing it over. "Cool tattoo! Where'd you get it? It almost looks alive." The guy behind the counter chuckled while scooping the ice cream into the cones. Draco looked surprised but mostly uncomfortable. He nodded at the guy. He pulled his sleeve down self-consciously and thanked the guy, quickly grabbing the cones and walking away.

Harry looked at Teddy then next to to him at mini Malfoy and smiled. Teddy had decided to share his sundae with Scorpius.

"My daddy says I can't have sundaes, 'cause they have too much sugar and he's says sugars not good for you."

 

"Well he's right," said Harry laughing at all of the chocolate that had somehow gotten smeared all over the kid's face from just a few spoonfuls.

 

"But Uncle Harry says that rules like that don't matter on Fridays," Teddy confirmed, sticking a spoonful of strawberry ice cream in his mouth.

 

Harry reached for a napkin then dipped it in his water cup before lifting Scorpius into his lap as he started to wipe the chocolate off the little guy's face. Just as he was almost done, Malfoy walked up holding 2 cones and looking a bit shaken.

Draco's breathing quickened again as his heart hammered. On his way back to the table he noticed that Scorpius was no longer in the seat but in Harry's lap and it seemed as though he was trying to get something off of the younger boy's face.  _When did Potter become so...sweet? Wait is that chocolate?_ Draco was still quite shaken from the barely legitimate conversation with the guy behind the counter, but he hoped it didn't show on his face. He realized that it did once Harry sat a now clean Scorp next to Teddy and told them to watch each other. He motioned for Draco to follow him just outside. The blonde nodded then handed the apple pie cone to his son and grabbing a napkin for his own before heading after Potter.

Harry crossed his arms and stared at Draco with a serious expression, but he didn't start talking until the door was completely closed behind them.

 

"Are you checking me out, Potter?" Draco started raising one eyebrow in question. Harry only shrugged.

 

"Not this time. There'll be time for that later. Are you alright?" Harry responded shrugging. Draco couldn't deny how his heart had begun to flutter at the brunette's words.  _There'll be time for that..._ Draco didn't say anything so Harry continued. "Are you alright?"

 

"So it's true then? Harry Potter's a poof?" Draco asked still intent on changing the subject. Again Harry just shrugged.

 

"I don't see why that's important." Draco's heart took off at the almost confirmation for reasons he was more than concerned about. "Now tell me the truth. Stop trying to change the subject. Are you alright? You seemed pretty shaken up."

 

"We aren't friends, Potter. Why would you care?"

 

"I put the past behind us during the trials, Malfoy. Not to mention you look pretty good without your hair all slicked back." Harry casually slipped his fingers through Draco's hair as though he did it everyday. "And your arse looks pretty good in those trousers as well." He shrugged again, placing his hands in his pockets and looking back at Draco who was blushing profusely.

 

"It was nothing, Potter. I don't need The Golden Boy fighting my battles. He just mentioned my dark mark he said it was a ' _cool tattoo_ '." He scoffed. "As if I would get a muggle tattoo." Harry narrowed his eyes at the blonde.

 

"But that's not the part that bothered you, is it?" Malfoy didn't understand why, but he shook his head.

 

"He said it looked alive..." Draco looked down as he realized how childish he was being.  _So what,_  he thought  _someone says something about you and you're gonna run off and tell daddy?_ He looked back over at Harry who was looking at him in a way that screamed pity but he knew it wasn't. It was empathy. Potter knew what he was going through.

 

"I tried to take a muggle guy home once," Harry started blushing while he motioned his arms suggestively and looked up at Draco through his eyelashes "His name was Connor or something like that. Doesn't really matter, but when we got back to my place he mentioned my scar. We were almost completely naked and it was like he practically brought my paren into the room to watch. Then he said it must have a pretty epic story and I laughed in his face and kicked him out. I think I cried the rest of the night." Harry shook his head of the thought then looked at Draco, tilting his head to the side.

 

"Why'd you tell me that?"

 

"Well you may not see us as friends and that's fine, but I would like to be. Not to mention you don't seem to mind me talking about my ' _sexcapades_ '" he made air quotes around the word. "Ron is fine with it as long as I don't try to talk to him about it." At this he laughed. Draco nodded and Harry walked around him and reached for the door handle, pulling it open. As he did Draco grabbed his wrist.

 

"Thank you, Potter."

 

"No problem." Harry seemed to think for a moment before adding: "And call me Harry."


	5. -5-

They entered the parlor and sat down.

"Daddy! Teddy told me a really funny story!" Scorpius said rushing up to hug his father's legs.

 

"No!" Teddy screeched laughing from his seat. "You can't tell the adults!" Scorpius giggled then let go of his dad and covered his mouth.

 

"Sorry, daddy," Scorp said running back to his seat, face reddened from sugar and his quick sprints.

 

"I hope this wasn't a bad story, Teddy." This time it was Harry who spoke from beside Draco before moving back and sitting in the booth again. He looked at Teddy warningly who instantly sobered up.

 

"N-no. It was about why I was in time out today." He let his head fall to the table in embarrassment. Draco, who had finally made it to the table, looked at him interested mostly at how much the kid looked like Harry at Hogwarts on particularly hard days.

 

"He's has pretty good control of his magic. I mean, he practically looks just like you, minus the glasses and the scar." Draco nodded towards Teddy and Harry smiled a bit.

 

"Yeah, sad to say he is actually a natural blonde, though," Potter joked. Draco stuck his nose in the air in mock superiority.

 

"Well of course he is. It's in his blood." Both Teddy and Scorpius broke into fits of giggles at this. For a moment Teddy's hair flashed that bright blonde again before settling for Harry's dark color laced with streaks of the platinum color. He blinked once and when he opened his eyes each was a different color. One was firmly Harry's emerald green and the other was silver and flowing like Malfoy's.

 

"That's so cool!" Shouted Scorpius now standing on the booth seat.

 

"Sit down, Scorp."

"Calm down, Scorp."

Harry and Draco spoke at the same time. Draco blushed and looked away causing Harry to chuckle lowly and look back at Teddy who continued talking to Scorpius who had sat back down and looked quite embarrassed with himself as well.

 _Malfoy's don't lose their manners,_ Daddy told him so. He would do better. He promised.

 

"It's called Heterochromia," started Teddy. "It happens when the dominant and recessive genes for a trait take over. I read about when I was at Uncle Harry's house."

 

"Why do you call him Uncle Harry? He's not your uncle. He's your godfather." Asked Scorpius, thoroughly curious now.

 

"Cause Gam doesn't like when I call him Dad. She said it's not polite because I already had a father." Harry had resigned to letting the little ones talk, but at Teddy's last admission he looked up. He never knew how Andromeda had felt. He remembered that Teddy had called him daddy at some point but he had just stopped. Scorpius rolled his eyes in true Malfoy fashion.

 

"Does he take care of you when you don't feel good?" He asked. Teddy nodded.

 

"Does he make you good food?"

 

Teddy laughed. "He can't cook very well." Scorpius shrugged.

 

"My daddy's a great cook. It's cause he's good at potions. Uhm well does he buy stuff for when you need it?" Teddy nodded again.

 

"Then he's like your dad and I think thats rude not to call him one too." Scorpius had his little eyebrows furrowed in what Harry thought could be either confusion or frustration but it was adorable on the little guy's face.

 

"Just leave it, Scorp," chastised Draco calmly.

 

"Sorry, Daddy. Sorry, Teddy. Sorry, 'Arry." A blush had covered his cheeks and the tips of his ears in embarrassment as it used to do when Malfoy was angry in school and Harry shook his head while chuckling lightly.

 

"It's fine Scorp. I like that you're curious. It must be one of the reasons you're so bright." He sent the young boy a huge smile before he noticed how intently Teddy was staring at his empty bowl in thought. When he looked over he also noticed that Draco was staring at him with wide surprised eyes before quickly catching his composure.

 

"People don't like when I ask questions," Scorpius mumbled sadly. "You're not mad with me?"

 

Harry shook his head. "Why would I be mad? It's who you are. I bet my life savings you'll be in Ravenclaw when you get older."

 

"When daddy takes me to shops and stuff the keepers get angry with me when I tell them what I think or when I ask how they do their crafts. They don't like when I touch things either."

 

"That's how adults are," said Teddy still staring at the table. "I like to ask questions too and they're always upset with me unless I'm with Uncle Har-" He stopped talking abruptly and looked dead into Harry's eyes his hair falling into his natural dirty blonde and letting his blue eyes rest from the constant changing. Harry smiled at him.

 

"There's my little pup." He reached across the table and ruffled his godson's hair.

 

"Uncle Harry," Teddy mumbled. "Can I call you Papa?" Harry gasped in surprise but allowed the grin to break out across his face in less than a few seconds.

 

"Of course you can. I don't think anything would make me happier, pup."

It was Teddy's turn to grin and the smile almost broke his face.

The young boys continued talking after that about books they had both read and lessons they had both taken. Harry noticed from these talks that Scorpius was way more advanced than one would think. Harry leaned over a bit to talk to Draco without the kids hearing everything.

 

"Scorpius really is a smart kid. You're doing a great job, Draco."

 

"Teddy's a great kid too, Harry. You must be doing something right." Harry laughed at that.

 

"It's not really me to be honest. He does have his own room at my place and I have him over a lot, but he spends a lot of time with his grandma since I work so much. I tried to get full custody but she doesn't really...approve? I guess that would be the right word. Its been practically 10 years but she still hasn't gotten close to getting over Tonks' death. I think having him around reminds her. And since she's a blood relative she would win any custody battles so..." Harry shrugged his own defeat and Draco really noticed how much this hurt him.

"You love him as much as I love Scorpius." It wasn't a question.

 

"He's my son. I had him for his first few days while everything was calming down from the war before I took him to her house and even then it was hard to leave him." Draco nodded. He knew the feeling well. He still wasn't ready to let Scorpius go. It was one of the reasons he had homeschooled him for so long.

 

"When Scorpius was born the only time I let Astoria hold him was if she wanted him to feed. She read a muggle study that insisted naturally feeding children enhances brain capacity and basically makes them smarter. It may be right," he finished staring lovingly at his own son getting along so well with the older boy. He assumed it was because they could bond over books and knowledge. It was the happiest his son had looked in so long. Draco leaned closer to Harry and spoke quietly in his ear.

 

"Would you both like to come to dinner at the Manor later tonight?" Harry looked surprised at the question, but nodded anyway.

 

"I would supply that we were fine, but Teddy already spilled the beans on my cooking prowess or lack thereof. Just send an owl or something with the time and stuff." At this point the adults went to stand and when they did the kids looked at each other before Teddy approached Harry carefully and blushing profusely.

 

"Papa?"

 

"Yeah, pup?" Harry said crouching down slightly to get on Teddy's level.

 

"Would it be okay if I went to Cousin Draco & Scorpius' house for a little while?" Harry looked honestly surprised.

 

"Uh, you have to ask your cousin Draco, but I don't have a problem with it." He shrugged then looked back at Draco who stared at him with a look he couldn't recognize in those molten silver eyes.

 

"It wouldn't be a problem," said the blonde, before a small smile spread onto his face. Harry smiled back then turned back to Teddy.

 

"Well, there you go, pup." Both Teddy and Scorp cheered before grasping onto Draco's hands and robes as they all walked out of the ice cream shop and towards the apparation point down the sidewalk. "Be good, but have fun! Love you, Teddy!" Harry called as they stood firmly on the apparation point preparing to side-along. He watched as Draco lifted Scorpius then took a firm hold of Teddy's hand.

 

"Love you too, Papa!" he said as the three blondes in front of him disapparated and he sucked a breath in at the thought of dinner at Malfoy Manor when he wasn't trying to be murdered. He wondered if Malfoy had picked up on his flirting hints and this was a date or if he vaguely just wanted to thank him for finding his son earlier. He was pretty sure he would be less happy if it was just for the latter.


	6. -6-

Malfoy appeared back in his own home with a satisfied pop before releasing Teddy's hand and placing an excited Scorpius on the floor.

"Scor, why don't you show Teddy around while I figure out what we're having for dinner." Scorpius nodded determined and grabbed Teddy's arm, pulling him forward and headed the game room to start the tour.

Draco shook his head and walked towards the kitchen. His house had changed since the war. He made sure of it. He released a lot of the dark spells that once held it. He brightened a few rooms with less drab curtains and paint. At the time he was really loving living the domestic life. He had always thought about it, but now that the house was as he wanted and Scorpius was going to school he decided he should really pick up a hobby. Or a job. Though it isn't like he needed the money.

He stopped in the sitting room right off of the dinning area and crossed his legs, calling for a house elf. It appeared with a  _crack._

 

 _"_ Tilly, bring me a glass of water please. I'll save the wine for Harry." He thought about how it felt to say that name. He refused to think about the way it made him shiver knowing he was on a first name basis with the kind Gryffindor. It felt genuinely nice. He thanked the elf as it brought back his glass and looked up when he heard a gasp.

 

"Cousin Draco! Your elves have hats!" Teddy said looking at him with wide eyes from the door of the sitting room, a giggling Scorpius behind him.

 

"Yeah, Teddy!" started Scorp. "They all do! C'mon, now I can show you the library!" He said excited.

 

"You have a whole library!?" Teddy exclaims. Scorpius nods and they scamper off leaving a smiling Draco in their wake. There was a tapping at the window and Draco stood to receive both the letter and the owl that sat there.

The owl landed on his shoulder with more grace than he expected the sharp taloned bird to have. He accepted the letter, recognizing the messy scrawl and wrote back.

 

_Harry,_

_You know you can just floo over, right? Malfoy Manor Sitting Room._

_\- DM_

 

He sent the bird off and within 10 minutes there was a rustling then the tumbling of a bespectacled Potter covered in a light dusting of soot.

"I never get any better at that," Harry says rolling onto his bottom and sitting with his spread legs out in front of him one hand holding him up on either side. There was a light coating of blush on his cheeks but he sent Draco that lopsided smile anyway, those green eyes boring into him.

 

"All the grace in the world Potter, really." Draco smirked down at him and stood, offering the messy man a hand then the seat next to him. Harry accepted graciously. "Would you like a glass of water or..?"

 

"Pumpkin juice will be fine until dinner, I think." Draco nodded and called for Tilly again. Harry's eyes got huge as he saw the small creature. And stuttered as it left him with the juice. "It- your- hat."

 

"Wow, are you always this elegant? I can see why the guys like you so much," Draco quipped.

 

"Your elves have hats!" Draco laughed and nodded.

 

"Teddy said the same thing."

 

"Where'd they get hats?"

 

"I tried to release them from servitude. I bought hats for all of them, but they refused to leave. Although they did accept the gifts. They go on breaks to town sometimes. For all other purposes they are free. They just like to serve I guess." He shrugged. Harry looked in awe. "What?"

 

"You really have changed."

 

"No, I'm just allowed to be myself now." He smiled into those green eyes. Harry gave Draco a serious look before speaking.

 

"I think I like the real you." Draco blushed and looked away.

 

"You're such a sap, Potter."

 

"Yeah, I know." He sat down his glass after taking a huge gulp then stood again and stretched. His shirt rose slightly giving Draco a look at the smooth, muscled tan skin beneath. "So am I going to get a tour of the manor while someone isn't trying to kill me?" Draco laughed but he knew that Harry really meant it. They were building something and the first step was trying to trust each other.

 

"We'll see," said Draco standing and motioning for Harry to follow him. "So what parts haven't you seen?"

 

"Uh...quite a bit actually. If I remember any of it I'll let you know."

 

"Well let's start, shall we?" Draco walked into the hall and began walking down the corridor to his left with Harry right beside him. He pointed out sitting rooms and extra guest rooms, each a different color or decorated with a different theme. They had almost finished the floor when Harry spoke again.

 

"It's a lot brighter around here than it was before." Draco nodded at him and spoke quietly.

 

"Well I didn't want to live in the hovel my father had left for mother and I. Then when Scorpius came about I decided I want better for him. I don't understand how my father could have let me live here before to be honest...Sure it's extravagant but everything had begun to fall apart." Draco took a deep breath and awkwardly chuckled. He turned towards Harry then blushed looking away. Harry smiled.

 

"You look nice when you're flushed. Makes your eyes stand out." Harry walked ahead of Draco. "I think I'm familiar with the next floor. May I?" The blonde nodded at him, his cheeks still tinted pink. Once they made it up the stair Harry turned to say something but was stopped by a loud giggle. Harry's grin got even wider.

 

"That's Scorp's laugh." Draco said in a way he thought was necessary.

 

"Oh, I know." Harry turned and headed towards where he heard the sound in a way that implied sneaky fun. Draco followed him perplexed.

 

"How do you already know my sons laugh?" He asked as they walked.

 

"I have a thing with making people happy. I know how you laugh too. I remember from...- Doesn't matter. Now c'mon." He motioned his head towards the only closed door on the floor. The one he assumed to be Scorpius' room. As he neared the door he heard a variety of voices and smiled at Draco before chuckling low.

 

"What?"

 

"Story time," he said simply. When he opened the door Teddy and Scorpius were sitting in the corner of the room.

The room was a very generous size for a child, until he remembered it  _was_  Malfoy's son he was thinking about. There was a large twin sized four-poster on one side of the room with books and toys scattered all about. The walls fluttered with painted clouds and small golden snitches whose wings really moved.

In the corner the boys sat on small cushions and took turns reading over a book. Whenever it was Teddy's turn he would change his appearance to look like the characters which cause Scorpius to almost always break into a fit of giggles.

 

"Oh," said Draco smiling. "Story time. Does he always do the faces?" Harry nodded then Teddy spoke up.

 

"But Papa always does the best voices!" Harry blushed while laughing.

 

"You do pretty good too, Teddy," he said with a smile towards his godson.

 

"I agree," said Draco once he realized the wide range of voices he had heard before they entered was just Teddy. "You do very well." Scorpius looked at Teddy with wide eyes.

 

"Wow! If Daddy and 'Arry says it then you  _must_  do really good voices!" Teddy blushed profusely and looked away. When he opened his mouth to object there was a popping and the appearance of a new elf.

 

"Dinner is served Masters Draco and Scorpius." The elf bowed and cracked out again. Scorpius was the first to recover.

 

"The foods ready!" he squealed pulling Teddy up and out of the room and rushing down the stairs towards the dinning room with Harry and Draco calmly not so far behind.


	7. -7-

Harry stopped abruptly once they entered the dinning room. It looked so different from the last time he had been there. The long table no longer took up the usual space. Instead was a reasonably sized glass table that could maybe seat 6 comfortably. Even the once black walls were now a cool gray, giving the room a much more modern and relaxed vibe than it had previously.

"'S'nice..." He said quietly looking over at Draco.

 

"I couldn't eat before. The way I was- the way it was before... I made a much needed change to this space. Now dinner shall be brought out once everyone is seated." His drawl had returned before being plucked with a hint of joy at having company for once.

 

"You don't get many visitors, do you?" The blonde scoffed.

 

 

"Why would I want to be bothered by others? You've imposed yourself on me now." He drawled again rolling his eyes and taking a seat at the head of the table. Scorpius spoke up at the sound of that before climbing into the seat next to his father and ignoring all signs of help. He sat triumphantly and looked over to Harry.

 

"My grand-mère used to visit all the time!" He spoke excitedly. "Sometimes my Aunt Pansy comes with her boyfriends, but they're never the same. And my Uncle Blaise comes to visit on Tuesdays! He helps daddy with my lessons. You should come over more 'Arry! And Teddy too! Then I could have lots of fun even when I know I've got lessons and stuff," Scorpius spoke with more and more excitement as he went on and Harry couldn't help but laugh at the small boy while they were all tucking into their meal.

 

"Yeah, sure, Scorp. We would need to get me a schedule too though. I teach lessons too so I can't be over all the time, and neither can Teddy." Harry had sat on the other end of the table and Teddy sat next to him so that he and Scorpius were diagonal to each other. His hair was back to its original color, but he returned his eyes to the mix-match grey and green he found he liked while at the ice cream parlor.

Harry figured the kid liked to be unique and smiled at him as well. Harry hated to stand out, even though he seemed to do that more than most.

 

"You're welcome anytime, Potter. I assure you. I can fix the wards around you and Teddy's signature. I mean, we are friends now, I suppose and  _he_  is family." Draco says motioning over to Teddy who was now in full conversation with Scorpius about a book they both found interesting that Harry thought could be an old textbook but he had barely cracked his own to be sure.

 

"I told you to call me Harry."

 

"Old habits, you know," Draco said giving Harry a smirk and an elegant shrug as he lifted a forkful of baked potato into his mouth. He swallowed and Harry couldn't help but watch through his lashes as he ate some of his asparagus and sipped his pumpkin juice.

 

"The food is pretty good, Malfoy. Remind me to thank your elves." Another noncommittal shrug from the blonde.

 

"I prefer to cook the asparagus a bit longer, but it is pleasing so I guess I can't be upset." Draco had his eyebrows furrowed but he nodded before looking into Harry's surprised eyes. If he noticed he didn't mention. "Would you like some wine?" Harry sputtered at Draco's calm demeanor.

 

"Uh, you cooked this?" Draco quickly shook his head.

 

"Oh, of course not. I didn't want to be too far in case the kids needed something, but I usually do prefer cooking. Now, wine?"

 

"Uh-yeah! I would love some."

 

"Red or white?" Draco asked tilting his head slightly.

 

"I'm not really a collector of fine wines, ya know." Draco scoffed at him.

 

"Well we'll just have to fix that now, won't we, Harry?" Harry smiled at him.

 

"Sure, Malfoy."

 

"You know," the blonde spoke smirking. "You could call me Draco."

 

"Then sure,  _Draco_." Malfoy beamed at him and Harry couldn't help the flutter he felt at the look of a seriously happy Draco Malfoy.

They finished the first course and the elves brought out small servings of lemon sorbet for dessert. The relaxing flavor moved the conversation to more relaxing fields as well. Teddy and Scorpius discussed their impending quidditch/flying lesson for the next day while Draco gave Harry a quick rundown of life after the trials.

 

"I still don't have a job," Draco shrugged. "Not like I really need one, but it would be nice to go out and do something for a change. I do enjoy teaching Scor, but he's all prepared for school. Where does that leave me?"

 

"You could look for a job teaching..." Harry suggested closing his eyes and humming as the cool and refreshing taste washed over his tongue.

 

"Isn't teaching what you do?"

 

"Touché. Professional quidditch?"

 

"Too much traveling."

 

"Ministry work?"

 

"As if they'd hire an ex-you-know-what. Plus most of those jobs are either extremely boring or extremely dangerous."

 

"You could forge charms and jewelry, I guess." Harry shrugged. It seemed as if Draco had really thought through all his options.

 

"Katie Bell." Draco said looking away from Harry's eyes.

 

"That was actually my reason for suggesting it. You seemed to know what you were doing."

 

"Did you not notice the part where she almost died?" Draco looked utterly perplexed at Harry's terrible memory.

 

"I thought that was decidedly the point."

 

"That's my point! Who would want charmed jewelry from an ex-you-know-what...?" His voice lowered on the end and was practically hissed across at Harry. Scorpius looked at his father and Harry then at Teddy and nodded.

 

"We're going to play, Papa..." Said Teddy standing and helping Scorpius down before they both took off back up to Scorpius' room before waiting for an answer. Harry laughed but Draco still looked shaken up.

Harry stood and moved to Draco forcing him out of the seat and pulling him towards the closest sitting room he could remember. There was a large chaise lounge lined in beautiful patterned fabrics and he forced Draco to recline before sitting comfortably next to him.

 

"I keep trying, Harry, but it seems I only get more useless. It wouldn't be as bad if I didn't have the mark, but I'm still hiding behind my family's name. Avoiding social functions and keeping to myself...I'm a mess."

 

"Have you thought about being a writer?"

 

"No, why?"

 

"Well you have quite a way with words..." Harry cleared his throat and looked away. "I mean, the way you speak and stuff."

 

"I know you fancy me, Potter. Don't look so flustered now. I thought you Gryffindors were supposed to be brave." He smirked at the blush on Harry's cheeks before continuing their previous conversation. "What would I even write?"

 

"To start off, my biography," Harry said looking him in the eyes. "Rita Skeeter has been trying to get at me for ages, but I can't trust anything from her. We were never the best of friends but I don't remember you ever being excessively dishonest with me. Plus you were there so you would remember some of it and I would love for you to hear the rest." He shrugged looking into those piercing grey eyes with a smile on his face. Draco cleared his throat.

 

"I guess I'm a writer then, huh, Harry?" Draco smirked back at him. A smile soon breaking out and Harry couldn't help but beam back.

 

"Brilliant."


	8. -8-

**\- 2 Months Later -**

 

"Potter, why do I always have to meet you in your office? I feel like I'm being punished. Why can't we meet at your home after school? Or why can't you meet at mine?"

 

"You know I have to stay on school grounds during the year. We discussed it the last time you were here, yesterday." Harry smirked up at Draco playfully from behind his desk. "Now, would you like me to punish you?" Draco blushed and sat in his usual seat across from Harry.

 

"Counterproductive. I'm here to work..."

 

"Fine. Where's Scorpius?" Harry asked. This was the first time they had been alone in his office during one of these meetings. They sat and talked mostly trying to get to a level that screamed they were close enough for Draco to know all of Harry's odd happenings.

 

"It's Tuesday, Harry." He said exasperated as if that explained it all.

 

"Yeah, and?"

 

"Blaise does lessons on Tuesdays. I came by early enough so they have just really started. I usually come by later on Tuesdays because I'm never sure if I can leave those two alone for too long. Its on our schedule, Harry!" The brunette had the nerve to blush.

 

"Sorry." He said smiling small and lopsided. "I hadn't realized how early it was in the afternoon. I didn't have a class last period there was double period potions or something."

 

"'S'alright."

 

"So what have you decided? What made you have to come by so early?"

 

"I was thinking we could separate each of your years at Hogwarts into a different book since you mentioned you didn't want to publish anything before that."

 

"Yeah. I didn't know I was a wizard until I came here, so I don't really think anything before that is anyone's business. I guess we could discuss it briefly, but I don't think it's necessarily 'important'." He put air quotes around the word.

 

"Well that's fine I guess. I just wanted to make sure you were fine with- wait. You didn't know you were a wizard before coming to Hogwarts? That's impossible. I saw you in Madam Malkins getting fitted for robes."

 

"Not exactly when I came to Hogwarts, Draco, but when I was eleven my magic was going off the wall. I released snake at the zoo...and I started getting letters and- it's all a bit barmy. I guess those parts could go in there as well."

 

"Sure. Just a  _bit_  barmy." Draco rolled his eyes as Harry smiled at him.

 

"And you're going to be writing about yourself quite a lot. I'm sure you're fine with that though, right?" He blushed a little at what he may have to admit.

 

"Harry, we barely talked unless we were throwing hexes. I bet I won't be on more than 3 pages between you attempting to sing praises to yourself and your entourage doing it for you." Another eye roll and this time he had to reach a hand up and sweep his hair back out of his face.

 

"Then you're going to  _love_  sixth year." Harry didn't realize what he had said until after the words were out. Draco visibly tensed, but still tried to continue with control.

 

"Yeah, I'm sure I will..."

 

"I didn't mean it that way. You're just more prominent in my memories in sixth year." Harry blushed, but Draco merely nodded and continued taking notes while avoiding Harry's gaze.

 

"Shall we get started on first year, Potter?" Draco asked and Harry deflated at the harsh use of his surname again and complied the way he always did with Draco.

 

"Yeah, Malfoy. Let's get this over with."

 

**\---8---**

 

"Wow, Potter. Tell me how you really feel. You make me sound like a right ponce!" Draco said. allowing his quick quotes quill to take a break while he discussed the proper way to portray a Malfoy in literature.

 

"Well that's how you acted before." Harry did his best impression of a young Draco with an unnecessarily whiney and high pitched voice. " _My name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there..._ " Harry flapped his hands about in a way much too childish and feminine for anything Malfoy would have done, but he was able to prove his point as Malfoy blanched at the impersonation.

 

"Did I really say that?" Draco looked practically ashamed and turned his head as if he were going to puke.

 

"I forget a lot of things, but I tend not to forget anything about you, Draco." Harry looked at him with a caring smile before turning his head and continuing to describe each person in terms of characters so it would be easier for Draco to keep tabs on each one without his personal biases (it worked especially well with all of the Weasleys).

Draco made sure to take very astute notes while also having the quick quotes quill set all of his extra questions and Harry's answers to parchment. When he had picked the most of Harry's brain with questions about first year they both agreed that was enough for one day.

 

"Next step we can handle tomorrow. It should just be the starting chapters. A brief history of your life before magic and how you came to know about your magic." Harry nodded then stood to lead Draco to his personal office floo before Draco spoke again. "I've been meaning to thank you."

 

"For what?" Harry asked and Draco turned to reply not noticing the close proximity in which they were standing. He tripped into Harry's chest and felt the prior Gryffindor chuckle while holding him by the elbows forcing Draco's hands to grip tightly onto the brunette's shirt. "Real elegant, Malfoy." Draco still plowed on.

 

"I wanted to thank you for helping me. You didn't have to. I have no idea why you did to be honest, but I really do enjoy writing and I wanted to thank you for helping me find something." He was blushing hard and as he finished speaking he looked up into those emerald eyes and practically melted.

 

"No need to thank me. You know me, my super saviour complex or whatever you call it." Harry smiled before shrugging and looking even more intently into Draco's eyes. "Not to mention I needed a reason for you to keep me around a bit longer. I haven't properly asked you out."

 

"Is that so?"

 

"Oh absolutely. So, would you like to go out with me sometime? I can get the next Hogsmead weekend off and we could go out for dinner."

 

"What about Scorpius?"

 

"Hermione and Ron have kids. They're great with the little ones and Hermione would love to loan Scorp some books. Actually..." Harry let go of Draco and turned around, walking back in the direction of his desk. He opened a drawer and started shuffling them around before coming back with a small leather bound book. The front had golden script and it was entirely covered in love, magic and protection runes. He walked back over and handed it to Draco. "It's an advanced story book about magic and the nephilim."

 

"Like angels and things?" Draco asked turning the book over in his hands then flipping through a few pages looking at very intricate drawings of wings.

 

"Yeah. 'Mione said that its fact and fiction, 'cause you know she works in the Magical Creature unit at the Ministry, but she won't tell me which is which." Harry continued on with a small smile on his face at his friend's stubbornness. Some things never changed.

 

"Angel stories are his favorite..." Draco whispered in awe.

 

"Yeah, I know. I told 'Mione and she said she thought he would really like this one," Harry said tapping a finger to the cover of the book Draco held.

 

"You know?" Draco still sounded in awe.

 

"Well yeah... Why wouldn't I?" Harry looked honestly puzzled and Draco had to put the book down.

Harry knew what his son's favorite genre was, regardless of how obscure. He was sure that if he asked Potter would know the simple things too. He had seen him prove it time and time again without being prompted to. Draco stopped being selfish once Scorp was born, but without thinking about anything else he made a decision.

 

"Harry...?" The brunette looked up at him. Draco leaned down slightly and kissed the other man on the lips. Harry seemed shocked for a millisecond before he melted into the kiss, pushing just as much passion back onto the blonde.

Draco decided to let himself have something. Just one thing.


	9. -9-

Harry sat on the couch in front of the fireplace at Ron & Hermione's miniature burrow. Their home was a nice size for the 2 of them and both of their children, not to mention the guest room. There was a nice sized yard out back where the kids could play, but it was mostly used for their garden and any stray creatures Hermione tended to for her job.

Ron sat on the couch a bit bug eyed as Harry insisted they allow a Malfoy into their home. He had already had the talk with Hermione. Ron was another story entirely.

"Calm down," said Hermione smacking him on the back of the head. "He'll get here when he gets here." Harry nodded at her, but still tapped his fingers against his bobbing knee.

 

"Y-yeah. I know. I just wish Ron would stop gaping at me like he's gonna murder the both of them as soon as they pass through." Ron shook his head to clear any bad thoughts and gave Harry an apologetic smile.

 

"Oi, how am I supposed to react? First you tell me you're going on a date with Malfoy then you're telling me you want us to babysit his little brat-"

 

"I've had a crush on him since sixth year Ron, maybe before that to be honest. He wasn't too bad third year either. And Scorpius is a great kid."

 

"Wasn't t- Wasn't too bad!? Are you taking the piss? He dressed like a dementor just to scare you, mate!"

 

"Exactly so he had to have put forth a lot of effort for me. When did we ever put that much into getting at him." While they were arguing they didn't notice that the blonde had already stepped through the floo with his son.

 

"I actually spent all night making those costumes. They're hand sewn," said Draco with his normal air of aristocracy. "I pricked my fingers for you, Potter." Harry smiled as he looked up at the blonde from his seat.

 

"Want me to kiss it better?" He said cheekily as a flush rose on Malfoy's cheeks. Then he looked ahead at the younger Malfoy who looked uncharacteristically shy. "Hey Scorp. Hows it going, bud?"

 

"Hello 'Arry. I'm fine, thanks." The boy was stood behind one of this father's legs peeking out and speaking small.

 

"Do I get a hug today or...?" He asked tilting his head at the smaller boy with his arms out. Slowly Scorpius smiled and ran over into Harry's arms.

 

"Weasley," said Draco nodding at Ron then Hermione. "Granger-Weasley. Thank you for watching Scorpius. If you point him in the direction of your book collection he shouldn't be a bother unless he has questions and he's not allergic to anything." He directed the last part towards the woman of the house. He knew better than to trust the weasel to care for his son.

 

"Scorp, these are my best friends, Hermione and Ron." As he spoke he pointed to each one. Scorpius nodded then let go of Harry to introduce himself. He swallowed before moving over to Ron first. His father always told him that men of the house liked to be respected. He assumed Mr. Ron was no different.

 

"Hi, I'm Scorp'us Malfoy." He held out his hand to Ron who shook it firmly.

 

"Ron. Ron Weasley." At the sound of his last name Scorpius' eyes grew wide.

 

"My daddy says you have a bunch of siblings! I also heard him tell my Uncle Blaise that it's his fault you don't have as many anymore, but I don't know what that means. How can someone just disappear?"

 

"His brother is dead, Scorpius," Draco said when it seemed like his son wouldn't stop talking.

 

"Oh." The young boy looked down at his feet then back up into Ron's eyes. "Then I'm sorry. My mum is dead too." He left a shocked Ron in his wake as he moved over to a smiling Hermione, who held her arms out for a hug.

 

"Hi, Scorpius. I'm Hermione." The boy gasped this time and ran into her arms for a hug.

 

"You gave 'Arry the book about the angels for me! Thank you H-Her-Hermyninny. Angel books are my favorites!" He gushed and she smiled squeezing him once before letting his go.

 

"You can just call me 'Mione."

 

"Okay. Thank you, 'Mione. You do have a very pretty name. Sorry I can't say it very good. I'm just not all that good with saying big words yet. I can read them fine though!" She nodded at him.

 

"So I've heard. Do you want to meet my kids?" Scorpius gasped again.

 

"You're a mommy?!" Hermione laughed but nodded again.

 

"Yes I am. Would you like to meet my kids? I have a daughter about your age named Rose."

 

"I don't know 'Mione. Other kids don't really like me very much. Can't I just sit in here and read? I brought the angel book."

 

"Rose likes to read too Scorpius. It would be really nice for you to meet her, but you don't have to." Scorpius' face got visibly brighter.

 

"Do you think she'd want to read my angel book with me?" At the sound of that Draco conjured a small bookbag full of books, coloring pages and crayons to keep Scorp busy. He sat the bag next to where they were sitting.

 

"I'm sure she would love to. Would you like to go ask?"

 

"Yes please!" Scorpius looked up at Hermione as she stood and reached for his hand. He looked at it for a moment before grasping it tightly. They started walking and he turned abruptly to hug his father's legs and then grab the book from his bag. "See you later Daddy!" He grasped Hermione's hand again and began walking upstairs.

As they were walking Scorpius spoke again. It was more to himself than anyone else but everyone heard him. "I can't remember holding my mommy's hands." Then louder  
"You have nice hands, 'Mione. You must make a very good mommy, huh?" Hermione blinked back tears at his innocence and honesty.

 

"I sure hope so, Scorpius."

 

"You can just call me Scorp. That's what my daddy and 'Arry call me." She nodded as they made it to the top landing just out of sight.

 

"Sure, Scorp." There was silence for a moment and Draco decided it was time to go. He was used to his son's outbursts by now. Having been born to two parents that were equally Slytherin he wasn't surprised to find that his son was fairly blunt. The things he said were more so observations than opinions. He turned his attention back to the stunned weasel.

 

"I will only say this once, so listen carefully." Ron looked back at him prepared to spew insults. "Thank you for watching him." Ron was stunned into silence again before stuttering out a response.

 

"Uh n-no problem, Malfoy. He seems like a pretty good kid even if he is your spittin' image." Draco nodded at him then spoke with his head down, allowing a few of his longer strands of hair to fall forward into his face.

 

"If he gets to be too much you can just fire call or send him home. I-uh I gave your wife his potions for the night."

 

"Draco," Harry tried catching his attention before standing and moving over to the blonde.

 

"Please remember he has to take them on time. They don't bother him as much anymore, but he does get lost in his reading sometimes..."

 

"Dray!" Harry tried again. Draco stopped talking, shook his head and looked at the man standing next to him. "You're kinda starting to ramble."

 

"Sorry, Harry. New to this."

 

"The friendship bit?" Asked Ron accusingly.

 

"No, the letting other people take care of my son bit," Malfoy snapped back the tips of his ears turning red in anger and embarrassment. He looked back down and mumbled a quick "Sorry." Harry chuckled and grabbed Draco's hand which made the blonde blush harder.

 

"He's just a little protective, Ron. We'll be back...at some point." He sent his best friend a lopsided grin then pulled Draco behind him into the fireplace as they floo'd away back to Number 12 so Harry could get a pre-date drink and maybe wear something a little less muggle.


	10. -10-

Harry held the door for Draco as they walked into an elegant muggle restaurant. Harry's newfound adult confidence began to dwindle as he watched Draco look skeptically around the room as they waited for a hostess to show them to their seats.

"Table for Potter?" The young girl asked once she walked over to them looking up from her clipboard for only a second.

 

"Yes, that would be us," Harry responded. She nodded still looking at her clipboard, but made no move to show them the direction. Draco cleared his throat irritably and Harry nudged his side.

 

"Sorry," she still spoke to her clipboard. "Our computer system is down so I have to write it all out. My handwriting is kind of bad so I have to focus on putting pen to paper and forming the right letters, you know what I mean?" She looked up at them this time smiling as she placed the clipboard down on the hostess desk.

 

"No, I can't say I do," responded Draco rolling his eyes. Harry pinched his side.

 

"It's fine, really. My handwriting is pretty bad too." Harry sent her a smile as he spoke and she smiled right back.

 

"No big deal, your boyfriend can do all the writing for you, I'm sure of it." She laughed with Harry as Draco blushed.

 

"Yeah, I hope so."

 

"Now, if you would just follow me." As she led them to their table Draco took in the large chandeliers and the beautiful sconces on the walls as well as the gorgeous centerpieces that sat in the middle of each table. Once they were seated at a table in the back of the room she smiled at them and handed them each a menu. "I'm Emily, and I will be your server for this evening. What can I start you off with?"

Harry smiled at her seamless switch back into her job then looked over at Draco who was absently chewing on his bottom lip while skimming through it.

"I'm not sure we're ready to order yet, but we will take your best bottle of wine," The blonde spoke clearly while still looking at the menu.

 

"Of course. Red or white?"

Draco glanced at Harry, who was eyeing him curiously, before responding. "Surprise me." She nodded at them both before heading off in search of the wine.

 

"I didn't think you liked surprises, Malfoy." Harry smirked at him.

 

"I didn't think you liked French food, Potter."

 

"I like all food," Harry said chuckling. "Still waiting for my  _boyfriend_  to cook for me though..." A blush snuck up Draco's face at the word. Sure they kissed and flirted a lot and there was barely a time they weren't in correspondence being that Harry had gotten Draco a muggle cellular device, but they had never talked about what they actually were.

 

"Is that what I am?"Draco practically whispered it. "I mean, we never talked about it. This is our first official date."

 

"O-oh, yeah. You're right. I'm sorry. I just sort of...assumed, I guess. I've been into you for a bit so-but yeah. Yeah, no- it's my fault. Sorry." Harry refused to look up at Draco after that. He hid behind his menu causing his usually messy hair to splay around it like the rays of a sun. Before Draco could respond Emily returned with a bottle of white wine and set it in ice after pouring each of them a glass.

 

"Are we ready to order?" She asked pulling out a pen and a small notepad from her black waisted apron. She carefully wrote their order as they spoke then nodded when she was done. "Your food will be out soon. Enjoy your wine."

The couple sat in awkward silence before they each decided to talk at the same time.

 

"Look-"

"I didn't-"

Harry stopped and let Draco take over.

"I didn't mean it that way. I would love for us to be official, you're not as annoying as you were in school and you care about Scorpius, but that's who I have to think about here. If anything happens with us then I want to be sure that he's okay with it. I want him to know that things are going to change, but for the better. I want to talk to him about it, but that's not something to just throw on him." Harry nodded and looked into Draco's eyes as he spoke.

 

"I understand. I really do care about Scorpius. He's a great kid and I understand where you're coming from. If you want to wait. That's fine. I know how hard it is to open up your family to others. I'm fine with whatever we are now..." Harry looked down blushing. Draco could tell that Harry meant what he said, but he could also tell that Harry wanted more. He could tell Harry was ready to make him and Scorp a part of his family as much as he wanted to be a part of it, but he was sure it was too soon.

Wasn't it?

He'd known Potter for years even if they didn't get along. He learned things about the younger green-eyed Gryffindor during all his teasing and sneaking. And sometime during all of his jokes and teases at the darker boy's expense he started falling for him. This relationship was a long time coming, he knew that. They both did, but he didn't want to ruin it by rushing into it.

He ruined everything anyway. He wasn't ready for this to be over.

Emily returned with their food before bowing lightly then pouring them more wine.

"Enjoy your meal. Let me know if you need anything else. Okay?" Harry looked at her and sent her his famous smile.

 

"Thanks, Emily. This looks brilliant." She smiled and nodded at him before walking away again.

 

"Sometimes I wonder if you should have been a Hufflepuff," Malfoy said rolling his eyes. "I mean, with all the fluff and gratitude."

 

"Yeah, well I guess you really did belong in Slytherin with the air aristocracy and assumption of class." Draco looked surprised.

 

"Forget what I said. A Hufflepuff would never have been as rude." At that Harry snorted in laughter.

"Did you ever  _meet_  Tonks?" Harry asked rhetorically while still eating. Draco shook his head no and wiped his mouth before looking at Harry and tilting his head to the side. "She could be as fluffy as a porcupine." Harry smiled sad while looking down at his plate before looking back up at Draco. "She was wonderful, really. I'm just taking the piss, but I'm sure she would've had my head for jinxing her like that though."

 

"Excuse me?" Draco asked looked at him confused.

 

"She was really clumsy. She blamed people who gave her compliments." He chuckled to himself before tucking back into his food then looking at Draco through his lashes. "But we're here to talk about us, right? So Draco, tell me about yourself."


	11. -11-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all the digs at hufflepuffs being soft and cuddly isn't me teasing ALL hufflepuffs, but a lot of my friends are hufflepuffs and they're just very soft and lovable...these are mainly digs at them :)
> 
> \-- luci xoxo

"Well, Potter, what do you want to know?" Draco glanced up at Harry before he continued eating, being sure to keep his head down. Harry tilted his head to the side and watched Draco.

 

"I don't know, the basics maybe?" Harry asked gathering a forkful of mushrooms with a slice of steak before allowing Draco to meet his gaze again. The blonde almost immediately blushed while rolling his eyes.

 

"You know the basics." He was staring at him. Harry shrugged and looked back into his eyes.

 

"Humour me?"

 

"Maybe another time. I've got a lot of baggage I don't think I want to unpack just yet. Especially not here in a muggle restaurant."

 

"Still think I'm going to run off the first chance I get?" Harry asked watching Draco closely. The blonde looked up and caught his gaze.

 

"I would."

 

**~~8~~**

 

"Papa? Can I stay with you the next weekend that you're off work?" Andromeda looked up at Harry when she heard the name and the fire in her eyes melted any of his resolve to ignore her stares.

 

"Sure, pup." Harry rubbed the top of Teddy's head before shoo-ing the young boy up and into his room then heading over to the kitchen to talk to Andromeda. As soon as he walked in the kitchen he felt the chill in the air as the feeling of her anger manifested into her residual magic within the room.

 

"Maybe I didn't hear him correctly." She spoke while looking directly at Harry who had found the loose thread in his jumper much more interesting. "Did Teddy just call you 'Papa'?" Harry nodded but didn't look up. "You're not his father, Harry." The anger in her voice when she said it made Harry snap his head up to stare at her, his anger finally bubbling to the surface.

 

"No, I'm not. He's an orphan, just like me because I wasn't able to stop the war fast enough. It's my fault Tonks is dead- that Remus is dead. I'm not his father. I could never be half the man Remus was. I get that, okay? But I am the closest thing he has to father and if he wants to call me Papa I am going to let him. He is just as much my son as you allow him to be." Harry took a deep breath to calm himself down because the air had started to crackle with his energy as well. "I've dealt with your attitude and you rarely letting me see him for Teddy's sake, but it's been 10 years Andy. He's my family too." Harry turned on his heel and stormed out but before he could apparate away she yelled after him.

 

"I don't think you should visit Teddy anymore. I know you've been keeping him around with my death eater nephew. He's told me. I won't stand for it. I trusted you Harry. But now I'm not sure why that was the case." Harry disapparated and felt a tug at his core proving he was forced to leave a magical signature behind. He was no longer welcome within the wards. He took a deep breath and went to the first place he thought of.

 

**~~8~~**

 

Draco felt his presence before he heard the doorbell. Harry usually came straight through the wards. What was up with Potter?

 

"Did the elves reset the wards?" Draco drawled before even having the door completely open.

 

"Uh no. I just didn't think it would be appropriate for me to just 'pop in' anymore. We aren't together..." Harry looked down. Then back up with glassy eyes.

 

"Harry did something happen?" Draco opened the door wider now that he realized this wasn't just witty banter. The raven haired man rushed into Draco's arms as tears fell down his cheeks. Draco held him and when Harry opened his eyes again they had appeared in what seemed to ne Draco's bedroom. It was very minimalist modern with light grey walls and dark wood furniture and a bed with dark grey and green sheets. "What's wrong Harry?"

 

"An-Andromeda says I can't see Ted-dy anymore. He c-called me Papa and she f-flipped out." Draco looked at him pointedly. Then laid them on the bed. They kicked their shoes off and Harry positioned himself in Draco's arms. The blondes head resting on top of his and their arms wrapped tightly around each other.

 

"Potter, I know you better than this. You wouldn't be crying unless you were blaming yourself. What did you do?"

 

"I m-may have yelled at her..." Harry looked ashamed and blushed at his admittance. Draco only smirked at him.

 

"Definitely not a Hufflepuff." Harry looked at Draco gratefully. The blonde knew how to make him smile, even if he was teasing. He somehow knew how to get a reaction from Harry. Now that he thought about it, hadn't he always?

 

"Thanks..."

 

"No problem. Now what was that at the door about us not being a thing? Are you really angry about it?" Draco was looking down at him now. Harry could feel the shift in movement and blushed at the attention.

 

"Its not that I'm angry. It's just- I don't know, Dray. I've cared about you for so long it just feels like something I've always done. Even when I was supposed to be hating your guts I was worried about whether you were okay or not. So now it's like-it's like I have you, but I can't have you. Does that make any sense?"

 

"It makes complete sense." Draco tilted his head down and met Harry's lips in a kiss. The kiss was messy and far from perfect. There was spit and it tasted of salt and residual tears, but the message got across just fine. Maybe they weren't actually together yet, but neither of them planned on going anywhere anytime soon. They were going to be there for each other no matter what. When they broke apart Harry looked up at the man holding him as if he never wanted to let go and spoke.

 

"Since when did you become the Hufflepuff?"

 

"Who knows? But I do know that I'll be whatever you need me to be from here on out." He took a deep breath and rolled his eyes with a smirk playing on the corners of his mouth. "Even if that includes being your boyfriend." Harry burrowed in face in Draco's chest.

 

"You don't have to, Dray, I understand our situation really. You have to talk to Scorp about it first, we discussed it at dinner..."

 

"Harry James Potter, if you don't want to allow yourself to be happy by having me as a boyfriend then help me be happy by being mine." Harry smiled while letting a tear slide down his cheek.

 

"I mean, if you insist..." It was Harry's turn to smirk and Draco rolled his eyes.

 

"You and your damn Hero Complex." Draco kissed Harry again, before pulling his wand from his sleeve and casting a spell to switch their clothes into pajamas then tucked them into bed. "It's my turn to take care of you, love. That means you are definitely sleeping here tonight."

 

"Thank you, Draco." Harry snuggled deeper into the sheets and closer to Draco before fading into an extremely peaceful sleep.


	12. -12-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> X bad word X: does not express my own personal opinion

The morning after was a blur of Harry blushing then leaving before having to rush back to Hogwarts for the beginning of the new week.

On Wednesday he got a fire call from Draco. He hurried to his office to answer.

 

"I think the first book should be ready for printing before you come back for Winter Break," Draco said into his fireplace, while still staring at his storyboard notes. Harry nodded at him from the other side of the flames. After that night in bed Draco decided he would be there for Harry. It wasn't just about how he felt about Harry anymore, it was about what Harry needed, what he deserves.

 

"So, no hello?" Harry said smiling until Draco looked up and chuckled.

 

"Hello, Harry. How are you today, love?"

 

"Better now that I can talk to you." It was like the goofy smile was never leaving Harry's face. Draco rolled his eyes at the younger man's antics.

 

"Harry we write letters every day. I even apparated to Hogwarts yesterday to have lunch with you in your office."

 

"Thanks, Dray," Harry said finally seriously. "I don't think I ever thanked you for the other night either.."

 

"Harry- Don't do this...you don't have to say anything-"

 

"I mean, I know...I-I want to. You deserve more than me, but I do like that you're trying to make us work..." Harry looked away. Since he slept over at Draco's house he felt like he didn't need to try and be so confident all the time. He could let his insecurities out, because the blonde deserved honesty. He deserved so much more, but this is all Harry felt he could give. Sure he could buy Draco a variety of things, but Malfoy could just buy those himself.

 

"Bloody hell, Potter! Are you kidding me?" Draco snapped. He looked around before making shooing motions with his hands. "Back up, I'm coming through."

Harry stood and backed away without another word and barely a moment later an angry Malfoy was stepping through.

 

"Are you trying to say you don't deserve me, Potter? Because I swear if it is-"

 

"How could I be..?

 

"Harry James Potter. Do you know how many lives you've saved? More importantly do you know how many times you've saved my life? I fought tooth and nail against you all through school and at the end of it all you still found ways to save me. You always find ways to save me. I'm giving you all I have to offer, do you know how hard that is for me? I'm doing that because you deserve it more than anyone, Harry."

 

"Dray-"

 

"No, let me finish. I'm pathetic, okay? I have lost everything, over and over again. Because I was trying to make my father happy. Trying to make the Dark Lord happy. Trying to make my name mean something." He walked past Harry and sat on the lounge in his teaching quarters. He took a deep breath and his voice was quiet when he spoke again. "Do you know what my name means now, Harry?"

 

"Dragon, right?" Harry asked while taking his glasses off to clean them.

 

"In the literal sense, but because of where my loyalties were in the war my name means nothing. It means _death-eater- **scum**_. It means _pure-blood- betrayal_. It means ~~_faggot_~~." Another deep breath then he placed his head in his hands before looking back up at Harry with glossy eyes. "I'm not worth you hating yourself Harry. I assure you. Do you think half as many people would have died if I hadn't have let those death eaters into Hogwarts? I've tried to work past it, I promise I have, but there is no getting past it when I hear it whenever I go out. Or whenever I tried for a job. That was the first school that even let me and Scorp in the door for the interview."

 

"Why are you telling me this Draco?"

 

"Because as much as I love Scorpius, I'm tired of doing things for other people. I care about you, a lot more than I ever thought I would. And I want to make you happy. Not for my sake, but because you deserve the best there is to offer, even if that isn't me. I never want you to doubt yourself. I mean, I know you're going to do it anyway because you're so bloody stubborn, but I wanted to tell you that I am here. I am always going to be here." Draco stood again and grabbed Harry's hands then kissed each knuckle. Harry's face was wet with tears but that didn't stop him from pulling Draco into a huge hug. He put his head in the crook of Draco's neck and kissed and felt the blonde shiver beneath him.

 

"Dray...I know we aren't datin-"

 

"Would you like to?"

 

"Huh?!"

 

"Date me? Be my partner or my boyfriend or whatever. Would you like to?"

 

"Well of course I would, but-"

 

"So would you be my boyfriend?"

 

"Dray are you being serious right now?"

 

"We don't lie to each other Harry. We never have. Not really." Draco tilted his head to the side as he looked down at the slightly shorter man and began blushing, having the red rush up his ears as well while Harry pretended to think even with the tears still in his eyes. "So, would you?"

 

"Yes."

 

"So now that that's settled, you have to stop crying, love." Draco lifted his hand and wiped the tears from Harry's face before kissing him slowly, savoring the taste. "Now what were you going to say?"

 

"Uh...n-nothing!" Harry's tan face was turning deep red as he blushed and dropped his head in order to avoid eye contact with the taller man.

 

"Since when did we lie to each other?" Draco asked softly while fingering Harry's chin forcing the raven haired man to look up at him. When their eyes met Harry knew he loved this man and even though he had to tell him, this wasn't the time. Not yet.

 

"It's nothing bad, Dray. I promise. I'll tell you, just not tonight. Okay?" Harry pleaded while staring into those pools of endless mercury. He still looked skeptical, but nodded anyway before kissing Harry again.

 

"Would it be alright if I stayed with you tonight, Potter?" Asked Draco. Harry nodded and headed towards the door that led from his teachers lounge to his bedroom then opened it.

 

"I have no class first period tomorrow and you have to get back to Scorp first thing so don't worry about waking me or whatever. You can just get up and go whenever. Okay, Malfoy?"

 

"Yes, sir, Mr. Potter." Draco smiled cheekily at Harry before transfiguring his clothes into pajamas and climbing into bed with an already undressed Harry. Harry took the opportunity to snuggle in closer to the blonde, laying his head on his chest and wrapping his arms around the leaner mans body. He kissed the t-shirt clad chest beneath him before he drifted off into a complete sleep.

 

"Good night Dray..."

 

"Night, love," said Draco while kissing the top of Harry's head.


	13. -13-

"Do you think you could make it to the manor for Christmas, love?" Draco asked, kissing his boyfriend's nose.

 

"Well I don't see a problem with that." Harry smiled at Draco as they snuggled deeper into his bed.

 

"Great, we have somewhere to be Christmas afternoon. I really want you there with me to announce this..." Draco started. Harry furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion and the blonde kissed the wrinkles in the middle. 

 

"I wish I could bring Teddy." Harry's face fell and he placed his forehead on Draco's chest and took a deep breath. "He loves the holidays and I was going to  
take him to see the lights in Godric Hollow."

 

"So why don't you?" Draco asked petting Harry on the head.

 

"You know why I can't do that."

 

"Bring my aunt with him. I don't mind. Give her a chance to accept the situation instead of letting her have her way." Draco chuckled. "Here I was thinking that Malfoy's were spoiled. Harry you should call her. I know this is hurting you. Tell her that."

 

"Dray- I just can't. You should go. I have a class to teach in an hour and Hermione did babysit last night, but probably has to work so she'll be leaving the house elves in charge of Scorpius if you take too long." Draco nodded at Harry's suggestion and pulled himself out of the bed then searched for his wand before transfiguring his clothes back. He turned and winked at the green eyed man before swaggering into the floo.

When Draco passed through he headed to his own bedroom to get a nice shower in, but was stopped by a crying Scorpius on his empty bed. He rushed over and got on one knee so that he was eye level with the small boy.

 

"What's wrong, Scorp?"

 

"Aunt 'Mione p-put me to bed early and I-I had a nightmare. I c-came to your room, b-b-but you weren't here..." Scorpius looked down and wiped his eyes and nose with the bottom rim of his pajama shirt before looking back up at his father and wrapping his arms around his neck in a hug.

 

"Oh Scorp, I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you." He lifted his son off the bed and squeezed him tightly, kissing the top of his small blonde head. "I was out with Harry...You remember Harry right?"

Scorpius visibly brightened at the sound of his name. He pulled back with a huge smile on his face even though he still had tear in his eyes.

 

"Really!? I wish we could hang out with 'Arry all the time!" Draco looked at his son and nodded.

 

"Maybe we could. Scorpius, if I told you that I liked Harry, would you be mad?"

 

"No daddy. Why would I be mad? I like 'Arry too!"

 

"What if I liked Harry the same way I liked your mum? Would you be okay with that?"

 

"So will 'Arry be my mummy now?" Draco chuckled at his son and shook his head.

 

"No, it just means he'll be around more. We'll hug and kiss sometimes..."

 

"He makes you happy, Daddy?" Scorpius says with big eyes.

 

"Yeah he does, Scorp."

 

"Then it's okay. I like 'Arry too, daddy. He's really nice." Scorpius smiled at his father. His eyes were no longer glossy with tears, but his face was still visibly red from having cried so much before. He waited for his father to put him down before running out the door and to his own room.

Draco smiled once his son left and headed into the bathroom to shower and finally relax. When he came out Scorpius was in his own pajamas snuggled into his father's bed.

"Hello, little one," Draco said sliding into bed next to his son. Scorpius cuddled in closer.

 

"Hi..." He smiled up as his dad shyly before turning over and whispering. "Daddy?"

 

"Yeah, Scorp?"

 

"Are you gonna marry 'Arry?"

 

"Well uh- I- I don't know Scorpius. This is all kind of new for us."

 

"Oh. That's fine, daddy. I just thought it would be nice for him to have a real family for Christmas." Draco looked at his son surprised, but Scorpius eyes were already closed.

 

"As long as we love him, Scorp, we are his real family. I promise."

 

"Okay," Scorpius yawned deeply as his breathing evened out. "Goodnight, daddy."

 

"Goodnight, little one." It wasn't long before Draco followed his son into the realm of sleep.

 

\------

 

The bed shook with the small weight of Scorpius' constant jumping.

"Get up! Hurry up daddy! C'mon, we have to go get it!" Scorpius pushed at his father until finally he opened a tired eye and stared into matching pools of mercury.

 

"Get what, Scorp?" He asked groggily trying to close his eyes to no avail as his son used his small thumbs to hold them wide open.

 

"We have to get 'Arry and Teddy's Christmas presents!" Draco smiled down at his smaller self and nodded.

 

"Right you are," he said through a yawn before lifting the boy off of him and peeling himself out of the bed to stretch. He found his wand and cast a quick tempus. "Well, its only 8:30 so I guess we can have breakfast before we go, huh?" He smiled down at his son who slip from the bed, attempting to find the floor first so that his feet dangled just above the cool floorboards. He huffed once he finally landed with his hair looking even more ruffled.

 

"Can we have caramel apple pancakes?" Scorp asked excitedly while bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. Draco chuckled.

 

"Of course, but you have to go and get your clothes out for the day." Scorpius nodded once and ran out of the room, slipping a bit on his too long pajama pants. "Don't forget to get one of the elves to iron it for you!"

Draco laughed to himself then headed into the bathroom to brush his teeth and prepare for the day. Once he was dressed in his casual shopping attire he headed downstairs to make a quick bit of breakfast. He finished the eggs, hash and sausages first then set out to mix the pancake batter when Scorpius finally came running down the steps, through the dinning room and into the kitchen wearing dark khakis and a warm red jumper.

He attempted to pull himself up to the counter to sit on the stool there and when he couldn't Draco came around and helped him.

 

"Be careful up here, Scorp. Wouldn't want you to fall, okay?" He went back to stirring the batter then ladled it into the pan. Moving back to the counter and throwing all the leftover peels in the trash he cut up an apple and gave the slices to Scorpius to munch on.

He flipped the last of the pancakes and placed them on a serving platter before using his wand to lift all of them into the dinning room while he picked Scorpius up in his arms and walked him to the table. Once they were seated he called a house elf to bring each of them a glass of juice and some caramel syrup for the pancakes.

 

"So what did you have in mind for presents, little one?" Draco said taking a bite of his eggs and mentally praising himself. Putting pancake batter in the eggs always made them fluffier.

 

"Uh- I think I wanted to get Teddy some new books, but I don't know if he's gonna like what I pick. He acts really nice, but he's older than me, what if he really doesn't like the same stuff." Scorpius looked down into his food.

 

"Why would you think that?"

 

"'Cause he never comes over anymore so I always have to go play with Rose-y. I thought it was 'cause I have to play with kids my own age."

 

"Oh, no Scorpius, it isn't you. Teddy's grandmother is just different. She has certain- opinions that she doesn't want to change." Draco tried to explain while holding his fork and knife out with each arm laid on the table each on one side of his plate.

 

"Okay..." Scorpius muttered then lifted his hand to lift the sticky pancake that Draco had already cut for him.

 

"Hands, Scorpius."

 

"Sorry, daddy." The boy picked up his fork and then poked a square of pancake before popping it in his mouth and smiling for the first time since they sat at the table. "Wow! These are delicious daddy!"

 

"Delicious?"

 

"Yeah, I was looking up words from my books. I found delicious, delectable and delightful. Your pancakes are all three!" Draco smiled at his son's ecstatic expression and realized that he wanted to share this with Harry and Teddy too. He wanted what Scorp called 'a real family'. When they were done eating he called an elf to help Scorpius get cleaned up and another to clean up the table and his mess in the kitchen before heading into his study.

Draco closed the door behind him and moved over to his desk to begin construction of a letter.

 

_Dear Andromeda,_

_I have no preference whether you like me or not. I don't care if you hate me and all that I stand for, but I will not sit by and allow you to make Harry miserable. He loves Teddy like his own son and as a father I can sense his pain._

  
_It hurt even worse when I sat at breakfast with my son this morning only to discover he thinks his new best friend hates him. He hasn't seen Teddy in months and has begun to assume it is a punishment for something he hasn't even done! In the spirit of Christmas (and Harry's best interest) I am requesting your attendance at Malfoy Manor for Christmas Eve dinner and presents in the morning._   
_I am not asking. I am however telling you that I will be sending a portkey the morning of dinner. Teddy is a great child and it would be nice to see my younger cousin again._   
_I wish you a Happy Holidays until then._

_Draco L. Malfoy_

 

He read over his letter once and nodded to himself. This was as polite as he could manage for someone who hurt Harry so easily and seemingly without a care. He folded the parchment and placed it into a silver envelope before dripping on the molten green wax and pressing it with the Malfoy seal. He signed her name on the front in his usual neat script then called his owl over to deliver it. He left his study just in time to be met with a blur of blonde hair as Scorpius ran into him and fell over, still trying to tie his left boot.

 

"Daddy can you help me?" Scorpius asked with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as though he honestly couldn't understand why the laces wouldn't come together properly in his hands. Draco chuckled then got on one knee helping his son then lifting him back onto his feet. He looked down at the miniature Malfoy in his warm winter attire and  _accio'ed_ a pair of ear muffs for the small boys already reddening ears before calling forth his own extra jumper and robes.

 

"Are you ready to go, little one?" He asked smiling down at Scorpius who only brightly smiled wide and gripped his father's hand tighter as they apparated out of the manor and into busy London streets for a day of shopping and Christmas cheer.


	14. -14-

"What about this one?" Scorpius said pointing out a slim dark handled broom. It was some American made brand. Draco shook his head. And picked up a small manual and flipped it over a few times before putting it back down.

 

"Absolutely not." He bent beside his son and pointed to the wood the smaller blonde held in front of him. "The grain is too thin. Potter would need something with a more natural look. This one is too manufactured looking."

 

"Daddy, what does m-manoofractured  
mean?" He tilted his head to the side, the way he so often did when something confused him and Draco chuckled as he stood and brushed his son's hair down.

 

"It means someone made it."

 

"But daddy, it's a broom. Someone  _did_  make it." Draco nodded as he took the broom from his son's hands and laid it back into its box on the shelf.

 

"You know what, Scorp? I suppose you're right." He ruffled the small blonde head of hair before smoothing it out again and picking the boy up to carry him towards another rack of things. As they neared the rack however, he noticed a small shelf covered in holsters. He smiled to himself. "I have the perfect gift Scorpius. Go wait by the counter, alright?"

 

"Okay, daddy." Scorpius took a look at his father before grabbing a bundle of ties and running off.

 

"Scorp! You don't need that many!" Draco called after his son.

 

"But you can't know which one I get for you!" Scorpius yelped back. He made it to the counter and Draco chuckled and looked back at the shelves full of holsters. He wanted one that was very Harry.

He searched through a range of colors until he found a deep brown, authentic leather strap with a deathly hallows symbol on the front. He smiled at the small nod towards their past and picked it up. Harry always carried his wand in his back pocket and if no one else was tired of it, Draco most certainly was. He arrived at the counter and looked around a few times before finally spotting his son behind the counter whispering to the clerk.

"Scorpius, how in Merlin's name did you get back there?" The woman behind the counter stood up abruptly at the sound of Draco's voice and blanched visibly. He couldn't mistake that shade of fiery red hair anywhere. He nodded at her politely. "Ginevra." Her eyes grew at the sound of her given name and she nodded back at him.

 

"Malfoy."

 

"Daddy!" yelped Scorpius. "This nice lady said that Rose-y's daddy is her brother! Is that true? Is Mr. Ron really her brother?" Draco nodded at his son who spun back towards Ginny. "I'm sorry. My daddy told me you don't have as many siblings anymore and it's his fault. My mum is dead too! It'll be okay." He stood a little straighter and moved over to hug his father's legs.

 

"Did you already pay for your presents, Scorp?" His son nodded then looked around himself in search of his gift bag which Ginny easily lifted and placed on the counter.

 

"No! You can't show him!" Scorpius stood on his toes and reached for the gift back making sure to keep it out of his father's grip. Ginny and Draco both laughed at the young boys antics. Draco finally lifted his hand and laid the wand holster down.

 

"Can you gift wrap it, please?" He asked absentmindedly looking in his pouch for the required number of galleons. When he looked up to hand her the money she looked astounded. "Did I do something?" She shook her head.

 

"This," she said motioning towards the wizard band. "It's- well its a male item, I assumed it was for you." He shook his head and tried his damnedest not to smirk at her.

 

"Most definitely a gift. Now could you gift wrap it? The red paper will be fine."

 

"Bow?"

 

"Uh- The gold, I guess. If you don't mind me asking I thought you were off playing quidditch or what-have-you. What happened?"

 

"Oh, I still play, but we usually have the holidays off so I try to help out here." She motioned to the store around her. "Name?"

 

"Harry," he said watching Scorpius pressing his face against the store's outside window where the first flakes of snow had begun to fall. He turned back to her to see that she hadn't written a name on the label yet. "If the pen is dry, I can just sign it when I get home."

 

"Harry?" She asked small. Looking him dead in the eye. It would have scared him if he were doing something wrong.

 

"Well yes, you know how he has that terrible habit of keeping his wand in his back pocket." He rolled his eyes as Harry's muggle tendencies. "I thought I'd give him something a bit more practical."

 

"Oh, you guys are friends now? Ron didn't tell me."

 

"Scorp, back away from the window. You're going to leave prints," he called towards his son before turning back towards the red head in front of him. "Oh no, we aren't. We're a couple." At her silence he tilted his head. "I can just sign it at home." She shook her head and quickly scribbled his name. Slowly sliding the wrapped parcel back to him.

 

"No worries," she said, but her voice shook. Draco didn't notice and took her shy smile as a real one and shot her a genuine smile back.

 

"Don't tell him what I got him, yeah? He said I shouldn't get him anything, but that's preposterous." She nodded with wide eyes.

 

"Have a good day," she murmured with a still shaky voice.

 

"You too. Happy Christmas! Come on, Scorpius." Once he held his son's hand he led them back outside and towards an apparation point and pulled them both towards a muggle bookstore he was familiar with to get their final presents.

 

\------

 

Harry was pacing around the house. But to Ron's dismay it wasn't Number 12.

"Oi, Harry sit down! You're making 'Mione even more nervous. We're having Christmas at her parent's house this year 'cause they say we always celebrate it at the burrow."

 

"That's because we do, Ronald!" Hermione yelped from the kitchen.

 

"That's because there is more space at the table!" Ron sputtered back.

 

"As much as I would love to hear this wedded bliss-" before Harry could finish the fireplace flamed up once and another Weasley stepped through, gracefully, making Harry's breath to catch in his throat.


	15. -15-

Although Harry didn't like Ginny  _that_  way anymore he never fully explained it to her, so every time she was around he felt awkward when she tried to talk him into dates or other ways of hanging out with him alone.

She burst into the room and started her rampage before even looking around. She walked by Ron who was lounging on the couch and into the kitchen with Hermione to grab a beer from the fridge. Harry had been standing in the room just off from the sitting room, staring at their Christmas tree and was now glad for the distraction because she couldn't see him from the kitchen.

"You will not believe what happened in the store today!" Before anybody could ask she continued. "The cutest little boy came in telling me he wanted to buy a tie for his dad, but he wasn't sure which one to get so he grabbed a handful. Friking adorable kid right? Then Malfoy comes up and claims it's his! Completely barmy, right Ron?"

 

"Yeah, Scorpius is a nice kid," Ron said more to himself. If she heard him she didn't let on.

 

"Then you really won't believe won't happened. He came to the counter for me to wrap something. When I asked for a name for the label he said Harry!" She took a huge gulp from the bottle. "I wasn't sure if I had heard him right so I asked again and he was looking all doe-eyed, claiming they were a couple." She looked from her brother to his wife, but they didn't seem quite as surprised as she decided they should be.

 

"You tend to miss things when you're always traveling, Gin," said Ron shrugging his shoulders. Hermione nodded her agreement.

 

"2 sugars right, Harry?" asked Hermione, moving into the sitting room to place the tray of tea on the table. He smiled to himself and turned on his heel walking in and sitting on the couch after grabbing his cuppa.

 

"Yeah, thanks 'Mione." He looked up and smiled after taking a sip. "Hey, Gin."

 

"So it's true then? You're dating Malfoy?" Harry blushed but nodded. And she visibly deflated. "Well I'm glad you're happy, Harry. You two seem to be good for each other. I mean, Malfoy smiled at me! Like genuinely. You must be doing something right," she said winking at him which had Harry turning even redder.

 

"Uh- we...uhm- We haven't actually done  _that_..." He said shyly looking down into his mug.

 

"Woah." Her and Ron said in unison. "Seriously?" He nodded at them before the fireplace lit up again. This time attempting to initiate a firecall which Hermione answered with no problem.

 

"Hermione, is Harry there? I called his house but he wasn't there," Draco asked as soon as he was sure he could be heard. He looked away for a moment then looked back smiling. "Scorpius says hello."

 

"Yeah, Harry's here. You and Scorp can come through if you want. I can go ahead and make dinner."

 

"I don't want to impose..." He heard a scoff sound come from behind her. "Was that my git or yours?" She laughed and turned around to asses the situation before looking back at him.

 

"Uh, both?" He shook his head at her slightly.

 

"Give us a moment and we'll come through. You want me to bring anything?"

 

"An extra casserole dish?"

 

"Call it an early Christmas present and I will also bring new utensils," he said with narrowed eyes and she giggled.

 

"Deal." They ended the call and less than five minutes later he was climbing out with smiling Scorpius.

 

"'Mione, daddy let me carry the spoons!" Scorpius shouted excitedly.

 

"And you did a great job, Scorp." She smiled down at him, taking the spoons and placing them in the dish Draco was holding with the rest of the utensils then took the dish from him.

When she headed into the kitchen Draco's eyes fell on Harry first.

"Hello, love," he smiled at him then noticed Ginny was there as well. "2 Weasleys. This should be interesting." Then his eyes got huge. "Did you tell him what I got him?" He shrieked almost girlishly causing Harry to laugh out loud.

 

"No, she didn't. And anyway I told you that you didn't have to get me anything." When Harry stood up his legs were attacked by a smaller blonde.

 

"Hi 'Arry!" Scorpius said, causing Harry to pick him up and blow a raspberry on his cheek.

 

"Hey, Scorp. Can you tell me what your daddy got me?" The small boy shook his head.

 

"Sorry, 'Arry, but I can tell you what I got for Teddy. He is coming for Christmas with us, right?" Scorpius true to his Malfoy nature tilted his head in that puppy-dog way he did when he wanted to know something.

 

"Uh-," Harry looked up at his boyfriend then back down to the boy he was quickly accepting as his own. "I-uhm...I'm not sure, Scorp." Before he could continue he heard the pitter patter of little feet coming down the stairs.

 

"C'mon Scorp'us!" Said Rose from the bottom of the stairs with a grin on her face and a small wide eyed Hugo behind her. "Mum brought home 2 new angel books and one 'bout dragons!"

 

"My daddy's a dragon!" Harry put him down, but before he ran off he hugged Harry and Draco's legs again. "See ya, Daddy! See ya, Papa!"

Harry froze and stared at Draco who blushed but still looked a little smug.

 

"Did he just-" started Harry.

 

"Yes, I suppose he did, ' _Papa'_." Draco chuckled before kissing Harry on the cheek and heading into the kitchen to help Hermione. Harry blushed and looked over to the two Weasleys who were watching the exchanges silently but in shock.

 

"Well mate..." started Ron.

"...that happened." finished Ginny before they both started to laugh at the blush almost glowing through Harry's skin.

 

\---8---

 

**_~*Christmas Eve*~_ **

 

Harry had tried on almost everything in his closet and decided that at this point the best thing to wear would be anything his boyfriend picked out so he called Draco. Hermione had showed them how to set up muggle phones that didn't self-destruct from over exposure to magic.

"Hey, love, I'm attempting to cook. Could this possibly wait?" Asked Draco as soon as he picked up the phone. He still hadn't told Harry about his letter to Andromeda yet, he was hoping it would be a pleasant surprise, but he was still trying to impress her.

 

"I guess it could if you don't mind me coming to dinner in the nude."

 

"Oh, I wouldn't mind at all, love, but you probably should wear clothes. My mother is coming home for this," he chuckled through the phone and the deep angelic sound resonated with Harry's almost naked body.

 

"I don't know what to wear, Dray. I thought you could help me," Harry mumbled. Draco rolled his eyes.

 

"Wear the dark grey suit with the black dress robes. The ones with the deep red lining! You should have a tie that matches that. And I will see you once you get here. Okay?" Harry agreed while laughing to himself that Draco knew his wardrobe so thoroughly already.

 

"Thanks."

 

"Now if you don't mind, I was busy," said Draco before hanging up. Harry laughed to himself as he put the phone down and headed towards his closet to put on what Draco told him to.

Draco on the other hand had been dressed for an hour or so, but he was trying his hardest to get dinner completed. He had sent the portkey off as he had said he would early that morning before he had decided to make a range of different foods. The house elves helped, but he made sure he put the finishing touches on everything before having it placed on the dinning room table. It was magically elongated to fit everyone who was intended to come tonight.

When he had finally finished the main courses he sent the elves to fetch the deserts and sit them on the serving counter. No sooner had he placed a warming charm over all of the food did his wards ring, announcing the presence of his parents.

 

"Mother," Draco said once he answered the door. Then looked at the man beside her and nodded. "Father." He moved to the side to allow them room to pass. "Come in."

His father visibly paled at the new look of the house, but Draco took no notice. He was too busy trying to run through scenarios where his mother and Andromeda broke into an all out wizarding brawl and how to fix it.

"Dinner is already on the table, but I have more guests showing up. So uh- Scorpius!" He called his son who came running but stop at the railing upstairs to look down.

 

"Is Papa here?" Scorpius asked his father excited. Draco blushed but shook his head.

 

"No, but your grandparents are here. Come say hello." Draco turned back to his parents as Scorpius made his way downstairs.

 

"You look good, my Dragon," said Narcissa kissing his cheek and rubbing his hair.

 

"So do you, mother." There was the quick pitter patter of feet behind Draco which made him roll his eyes fondly.

 

"Running, little one," said he and Lucius in unison.

 

"Sorry, Daddy. Sorry, Grand-père." Scorpius smiled then hugged his grandmother's leg. "Hi, grand-mère." He switched to Lucius, but held his hand out instead. "Hello, Grand-père." After the formalities were done Draco sent his son back up the steps to get dressed. He came back only a moment later. "I almost forgot, Daddy. Papa called. He said can Rose-y and her family come. Hermy-ninny's family got sick!"

 

"I'll call and let them know it's okay." He looked back at his parents. "The house isn't that different, I believe you can find yourself a sitting room to sit in. Tilly!" The elf arrived with a crack. "Get my parents a drink or something while they wait. Thanks." He nodded at his parents who stood dumbfounded and headed into his study to call his boyfriend.


	16. -16-

"You know I don't mind if you bring Hermione and Ronald, but the other Weasleys is where I draw the line, Potter." Harry chuckled at Draco's serious tone. "I'm serious, my parents are here!" Harry almost immediately sobered up his laughing.

 

"I promise. It's just Ron, 'Mione, Rose & Hugo. The rest decided to go back to The Burrow when they found out 'Mione's family was sick." Harry was quiet for a moment. "Do your parents know yet?"

 

"What about me dating the boy-who-lived? No. But Scorpius is layering the 'Papa' on really thick." Draco said now it was his turn to chuckle.

 

"It doesn't bother me, Dray. It just surprised me that he accepted me that fast."

 

"He's 5, Harry. Did you expect to duel him over me?" Draco joked and Harry sputtered making the blonde laugh. Now if you're finally dressed you can floo over and call the Granger-Weasleys from here."

 

"Got it. See you in a bit."

Draco hung up without telling Harry to floo anywhere but the blue room. He was sure that was the one his parents would be in. It was his mother's favorite. He heard the floo screech and rushed into the blue room to find that yes, Potter had been pulled there and yes, his parents were also there.

"All the grace in the world, Love," Draco drawled from the door as Harry attempted to pick himself off the floor and dust himself off.

 

"It's not my fault I can't stop falling for you," Harry responded looking up for the first time with that lopsided grin on his face as he stared at Draco.

 

"That was bad even for you, Potter." Draco chuckled.

 

"Yeah, I suppose it was. Where's Scorp?"

 

"Upstairs." Harry nodded then wandlessly spelled the rest of his clothes clean. Draco cleared his throat and motioned towards his parents. "Harry, you know my parents." The raven haired man snapped his gaze to the other side of the room, nodding to each Malfoy in term being sure to send them a blinding grin.

 

"Narcissa. Lucius." He walked forwards and kissed Narcissa's knuckles before moving over to Draco at the doorway. "I'm gonna call 'Mione." He left after leaning up a bit and kissing him on the corner of his lips. As Draco stood in the room waiting for his parents to say something they could hear Harry calling for Scorpius then the quick pitter patter of feet. "Slow down, Scorp."

 

"Sorry, Papa."

 

"Wanna come with me to call Hermione?" There was no response so Draco assumed Scorpius nodded because he heard him giggling excitedly. Once the footsteps faded his father spoke.

 

"When were you going to tell us? Did you think we would be okay with this? He almost killed you!"

 

"Father, we're past it. He has saved me way more times than I would like to admit. So you are going to let it go or you are going to leave." Draco spoke calmly and his mother couldn't help but smile at him.

 

"He's right, dear." Before anything else could be said the doorbell rang and the floo flared up again. Then Harry was peeking his head through the door.

 

"I told them to come through the floo. I didn't know if you wanted people to know you had guests. Last time it was a fiasco. "

 

"Because last time you brought a baby dragon!"

 

"He reminded me of you!"

 

"That doesn't make it better, Potter."

 

"Just answer the door, Malfoy. I'll get the floo." As he opened the gate for the floo Rose stepped out in an adorable red winter dress with a matching small R sweater in normal Weasley fashion, holding Hugo's hands. He wore dark khakis and a golden sweater with a red H on the front. They were both holding gift bags.

 

"Swe-fher," said Hugo happily as he handed it to Harry who had gotten on one knee to place a kiss on each of their cheeks and say hello.

 

"Aw, thanks Hu." He stood back up. "Scorp! Rose is here." A few moments later Scorpius was peeking into the room.

 

"Hi, Rose-y. Hi, Hugo. C'mon I laid all my angel and dragon books out for us. I have the coloring ones too!" Rose's face lit up and she pulled Hugo and the gift bag behind her as they headed further into the manor.

Draco stood at the door facing an angry looking Andromeda as Scorpius ran through the house with Rose and Hugo back towards the play room.

"Running, Scorp!" He called back before turning back to the woman in front of him. He held the door open. "Please come in. Dinner is on the table we were just waiting for you 2 to arrive."

 

"Hey, Cousin Draco?"

 

"Yeah, Teddy?"

 

"Is Pa-" at the feeling of his Gam's grip tightening he stopped. "Is Uncle Harry here?"

 

"Of course he is." Draco squatted down a bit so that he was on Teddy's level enough to whisper in his ear. "You're my secret present for him so you have to be super quiet okay?" Teddy nodded with a huge grin on his face.

 

"Okay," he whispered giddily.

Draco reached his hand out, which Teddy immediately took then he looked up at Andromeda to see her bitterly let go of his other one. They walked for a bit until they got to the door of the blue room which was cracked just a bit.

Draco knocked before calling out.

"Harry, love, someone is here to see you." Harry came to the door more than a little confused.

 

"Why would they come to your house to see m-" Harry stopped and dropped to his knees with tears in his eyes when he saw Teddy. "Hey pup."

 

"Gam said I can't call you Papa anymore," Teddy whispered as Harry pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

 

"It's okay, pup. As long as I get to see you."

 

"B-but I liked calling you Papa. It was like I had a-a real family." He stuffed his face into Harry's shirt as he cried. "I missed you, Papa."

 

"I missed you too, pup." Harry sniffled then looked up at Draco and mouthed the three words he had been dying to say to the blonde for more than a decade. Draco froze while a tear rolled down his cheek as he watched the display in front of him and mouthed back accordingly.

 

"I love you too."


	17. -17-

Harry and Teddy separated themselves and he made a split decision to take the younger boy out back flying, but on their way out the door Andromeda stopped them.

"And where do you think you're going?" She asked crossing her arms and standing firmly in their way. "Just because we're here doesn't mean-"

 

"Andy?" Said a small voice from behind Harry, cutting her short. He turned around to see Draco's mother with her hand over her mouth.

 

"Cissa?" responded Andromeda in a less than angry voice. Narcissa bolted out of the room and away from her husband before wrapping her sister in a tight hug.

 

"Oh, Andy! Where have you been? I thought you were dead! I mean after the war there was so much carnage..." Andromeda looked surprised at her sister, but never lifted her arms to return the embrace.

 

"Don't think I've forgotten what you've done. What all of you have done..." She spoke quiet, yet sharply. Her voice was like a knife through all of them. Narcissa dropped her arms and stepped back as though she had been burned. "You were death eaters. The lot of you three! You're the reason my daughter is dead! The reason my grandson doesn't have parents!"

Draco looked defeated and turned slowly to leave the room. Lucius had the nerve to stand proudly in the corner as to not let her words bother him. Hermione held Ron back from heading back into the floo. Harry was the only one who wasn't shocked, but angry. He shoo-ed a confused Teddy up the stairs to find Scorpius, Rose and Hugo.

"Andromeda! Stop it!"He screamed, grabbing Draco's arm to keep him in place once the kids were gone. "It's been practically 10 years. Can you just save it?!"

 

"So you're okay with this? With what they've done?"

 

"It's not about whether I'm okay with it. It was war, Andromeda. We all did things we aren't proud of, but some of us are trying to work past it!- Trying to get through it! And we can't do that if we have to be reminded of it at every turn. If you want to stay bitter and angry you can do it by yourself, because I won't let you drag Teddy down as well."

 

"Don't you dare bring Teddy into this!"

 

"Why shouldn't I? Don't you always use him as a means to get your way? If you disagree with something I've done you take Teddy away from me. Do you know how much that hurts? Tonks was taken from you, I get that, but Teddy is like a son to me. So imagine how I feel when he's taken from me and I know he's so close but I still can't have him." Harry was done being formal with Andromeda. He was done allowing her to throw her guardianship rights in his face. He was through with her bitter attitude. He was through with her angry victim act.

 

"I'm leaving," She snuffed heading towards the stairs prepared to call for Teddy.

 

"You don't have to, but we won't stop you, because Teddy is staying," responded Harry still angry, but slightly less bothered. Andromeda looked at him and it seemed as though she saw the same thing in Harry's eyes that the Dark Lord saw before he fell, because she turned on her heel and stormed towards the door abruptly. She was prepared to pick up the discarded Christmas bell that acted as a portkey when a voice echoed behind her.

 

"Don't leave, Andy." Narcissa stepped forward once more, slowly placing her hand on her sister's shoulder. "I couldn't stop you before, but I'm not letting you leave this time. Last time you had something to fight for." When Andromeda turned to look at her sister they both had tears in their eyes, but a small smile played on the corner of Narcissa's mouth as she spoke again. "Now you're just being stubborn."

 

"Well, you had to learn it from somewhere," Andromeda responded quietly finally pulling her sister into a bone-crushing hug.

 

"So..." said Draco not wanting to stop the moment, but ready for things to calm down a bit. Harry squeezed his hands and he continued. "Dinner is ready now that everyone's here." He lead the way to the dinning room, still holding on to Harry's hand. As they walked they nudged each other and whispered small jokes into each other's ears making the walk calmer in itself.

As they each sat down Draco allowed his father the head seat, with his mother to the left. He sat beside his mother, across from Harry. His mother was across from Andromeda. Seated on the other side of him sat an empty chair for Scorpius (same across the table for Teddy). Beside the empty chairs were Hermione on his side of the table and Weasley on the other, their kids were to take up the last two seats.

"Scorp! Teddy! Rose! Hugo!" called Hermione from the bottom of the stairs. "We're going to eat without you!"

 

"Noooo!" yelled Teddy who was carrying a laughing Hugo on his back as he sped down the stairs.

 

"C'mon, Rose-y!" Scorpius yelped pulling Rose behind him. "My daddy's gonna let Grand-père eat all the food if we don't hurry!"

Draco chuckled as his son finally made to the seat beside him and climbed onto it. With a swish of his hand Harry raised the children's seats a bit so they could all reach the table.

 

"So, Potter, I see you've mastered silent and wandless magic?" Said Lucius with narrowed eyes as the elves started to serve each person around the table. Harry, who was in the middle of sipping his pumpkin juice, choked.

 

"I mean, I wouldn't say I've m-mastered it..." Harry shrugged causing Andromeda slapped him on the back of the head so he sent her his prize goofy smile. He looked by at the oldest Malfoy and spoke seriously with the smile still on his face. "I'm pretty good at it, but I definitely haven't mastered it, yet."

 

"Pap- I mean, Uncle Harry is great at wandless charms and stuff. One time he lifted a whole stack of books to my room for me. He didn't even have to look at them!" Teddy spoke excitedly before taking a large bite of his rolls.

 

"You're doing it again," said Scorpius tilting his head to the side.

 

"'Cause," said Teddy trying to whisper across the big table. "My gam says I can't-"

 

"But he isn't your Uncle!" Scorpius was a few steps from a Malfoy tantrum. Draco pinched his arm to grab his attention. His son looked up at him with a mix of confusion and anger. "Tell him to call 'Arry his Papa again, Daddy."

 

"I can't do that Scorp," said Draco trying to calm his son down.

 

"B-but you have to," started Scorpius again, but this time with tears in his eyes. The rest of the table had stopped eating and were now looking at the young boy in mid tantrum. "He has to c-call him Papa, 'cause he's family and Papa needs family too!"

 

"But we aren't his family, Scorpius," says Andromeda, still angry with Harry.

 

"No," snapped Scorpius angrily with tears streaming down his cheeks. "Papa is fam'ly, 'cause he loves us and we love him!  _You're_  not  ** _our_** family, 'cause you're mean to Papa and Teddy!" Scorpius pushed himself from the table and climbed from his seat, leaving the table in shock.

 

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy-" Draco stood, but his son surprised him yet again.

 

"Excuse me, Daddy, but I'm not hungry anymore." With all the Malfoy grace he was born with he turned and headed back up stairs to his room.

 

"Well, Draco," started his mother. "I believe your son is even more dramatic than you were at his age.


	18. -18-

After Scorpius dismissed himself dinner continued in silence with side glances at Andromeda, who looked as though she had paled considerably. If someone wanted more food they would  _accio_  it to themselves. The children would whisper to their parents and Teddy barely touched his plate at all. When everyone was dismissed he ran upstairs in search of Scorpius with Rose and Hugo right behind him, although it took Hugo a tad longer to make his way up the large steps.

"Scorp," Teddy spoke quietly while walking around the large quarters. This entire floor was Scorpius'. He could be anywhere. They checked his room first. When he wasn't there they checked the play room then his study before finally entering the library.

 

"Scorp'us!" called Rose. "Scorp'us, where are you?"

 

"S'orp'us!" screamed Hugo, trying to help.

 

"Shhh! You have to be quiet in the library," Scorpius whisper screamed from behind one of the shelves. Rose ran to where she heard the voice and hit Scorpius on the back of the head.

 

"Don't 'shhhh' us. We were looking for you, Scor'pus!" She said pouting and sitting cross legged next to him on the carpeted floors. He looked down and blushed a little. He didn't know everyone was looking for him.

 

"Yeah, we practically checked the whole floor, Scor," said Teddy sitting on the other side of him.

 

"S'orp'us sad?" asked Hugo sitting in Teddy's lap and poking Scorpius face. "S'orp'us got'be 'appy!" He leaned in close and gave Scorpius a kiss on the cheek. "It Chwis'mas!"

Scorpius giggled and Teddy smiled while Rose shook her head.

" _Christmas,_ Hugo! It's Christmas!" She chastised her younger brother still shaking her head. He stuck his tongue out at her then burst into a fit of giggles.

 

\-----8-----

 

"I should leave," said Andromeda after the table had been cleared of both food and children. No one met her eyes, but Harry who shook his head.

 

"No, everyone is staying for Christmas. Teddy wants you here, and I'm sure Narcissa does too." He looked over at Draco who called for a house elf.

 

"I apologize for Scorpius earlier. He shouldn't have yelled," Draco said tilting his head. "Though I can't say that he was wrong. Polly will show you to your room." He motioned to the house elf behind him who scurried forward to do her job. Andromeda followed the elf with no problems and Draco looked to the Granger-Weasleys next. "I think Harry can show you to your room. Scorp will show Rose and Hugo later unless they all fall asleep in his & Teddy's room."

Harry narrowed his eyes at him.

"I can talk to your parents, Dray. If you have a room set aside for Ron and 'Mione, then you can show them."

 

"It's nothing, Harry. I just didn't want to push my parents on you- or anyone for that matter."

 

"Understandable." Everyone was standing, but they both leaned across the table for a kiss. When they broke apart they smiled at each other and Draco began directing Hermione and Ron on where to go.

 

"Don't break them, love," called Draco with his back still turned as he walked away.

Harry looked back at the Malfoys to notice the slight shocked expression from the show of affection then he realized that wasn't something higher-ups did in front of others and blushed.

"Sorry..." He sent them his lopsided smile and scratched at his neck awkwardly.

 

\---8---

 

**_~*Christmas Day*~ (finally)_ **

 

Harry and Draco were awoken by a moving bed and giggling children.

"Daddy! Papa! It's Christmas! Get up!" Yelled Scorpius jumping on the bed as Teddy stood by the door with a huge grin on his face.

 

"We're up," muttered Draco as he sat up in the bed and nudged Harry who popped up soon after, scrambling for his glasses.

Once they were definitely up (Scorpius poked their faces to be sure) they slid from the bed. Draco, in his silk pajama bottoms, and Harry, who wore a t-shirt with his flannel bottoms, both slid on their bedroom shoes and encased the smaller boys into a hug and headed to the living room to bask in the lights on the tree.

Draco wondered allowed if they should wake everyone else up and with a wave of his hand Harry shot sparks beneath their doors. Not a moment later each door burst open revealing each person covered in glitter and Draco looked taken aback before he looked at his parents.

"Confetti Alarm," grinned Harry.

 

"You covered my father in glitter," sputtered Draco before breaking into a round of hardy laughter and dragging Harry quickly down the rest of the spiraling staircase. Scorpius and Teddy had ran back up to get Rose and Hugo before sliding down the hall then the stairs down as fast as possible.

The tree was huge and covered in a light dusting of magical snow and ornaments. Some of the baubles jingled and moved throughout the tree as you watched. The angel seemed very realistic as she softly sang carols from the top of the tree.

Once everyone had cleared the glitter from their skin and most of their hair, they joined them downstairs around the tree. The room held a large fireplace that lit with a snap of Harry's fingers. There were three or four couches that were situated around the room to give it a cozy feel, even with the tree in the center.

The kids headed for the tree first and started handing out presents, but Harry noticed someone wasn't there.

"Teddy? Where's Andromeda?"

 

"I don't know, Pap- Uncle Harry. I went to wake her up, but her room was already empty." He looked away then back at Harry. "She's okay, isn't she?" Harry was about to assure the small blonde, that  _of course_  she was okay, when he noticed a note hanging on the tree with his name on it. He summoned it to him and recognized Andromeda's handwriting quickly.

 

_Harry Potter,_

_It isn't easy for me to do this, but I know it is the right thing to do. Draco really loves you. Teddy really loves you too, both of you. He deserves a full family, not a bitter old lady like me. I'm taking a break from civilization. I think I need to travel and experience what the world is like since the war. I am still his grandmother, but I won't keep Teddy from a family he so clearly wants to be a part of. I know you aren't his father, but you are as close to one as he is ever going to get. He can write anytime and so can you. Don't be a stranger. Keep our pup safe, 'Papa'._

_Andy Tonks_

 

Before he could stop himself he was reading the letter aloud, even if it was only to prove to himself it was real. When he had finished the floo rang. Draco went over to check and unlocked it easily. Harry's breath caught in his throat when the Minister of Magic stepped through.

"Uh- Minister," said Draco stepping forward surprised. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

 

"I'm here to 'deliver a present' so to speak." He swished his hand once and a small stack of papers appeared in it and he began to read.  _"I, Andromeda Tonks Nee-Black, give full guardianship rights of Edward Theodore Remus Lupin over to Harry Potter and his partner, Draco Malfoy, until a time is shown that they are unfit parents._ All you've got to do is sign," said Shacklebot smiling.

Harry looked to Teddy first. "Would you be alright with that, pup? With me being your legal guardian?" Teddy nodded surprised with glossy eyes. Harry stood and walked over to the Kingsley and signed everywhere he was told before the Minister smiled and nodded again.

"Well, I have to get this back to the office. A minister's work is never done, you know. Merry Christmas," he added almost as an afterthought as he stepped back into the floo and vanished in a flash of green flames.

 

"Well, pup," said Harry. "That's that." He smiled down at his son who ran over, jumped and immediately captured Harry in a hug.

 

"I love you, Papa!"

 

"I love you too, Pup."

 

"What about me," said Scorpius stomping over with his hands on his hips and his usual small Malfoy grace. "I love you too, Papa."

 

"And of course I love you too, Scorp," said Harry laughing as Scorpius smiled up at him and wrapped his arms around the man's leg. "Now," he said prying both boys off of him. "Are you guys ready to open your presents?"

Hermione & Ron smiled at the group and decided it was best to take their things back to their home.

"You guys don't have to leave," said Harry when Hermione pulled him in for a hug.

 

"We don't mind Harry, really. You deserve this. Happy Christmas!"

 

"Yeah, mate, enjoy your family," Ron said happily. Both Harry and Draco searched for the sarcasm, but there was none.

Hermione gave Draco a hug and Ron shook his hand right after.

"Bye, Uncle Harry. Bye, Uncle Draco. See ya, Teddy!" Rose said hugging everyone in turn, blushing after she hugged Teddy's taller frame. Then she stood with her hands on her hips. "Where'd Scorp'us go?"

 

"I'm right here Rose-y!" said Scorpius teetering back into the room holding a book wrapped in ribbon with a bow and a bar of chocolate. "This is for you," he said handing her the book. Then he turned to Hugo and handed the younger boy the chocolate. "And this is for you, Hue." He giggled. "That rhymed!"

 

"Thank you, Scorp'us." Rose curtsied and turned to hide behind her dad quickly. Hugo, on the other hand, stood and tottered a bit closer to Scorpius. He stood on his tiptoes and kissed Scorpius on the cheek again.

 

"Tank you, S'orp'us." He smiled widely showing his tiny white teeth before grabbing his mother's hand as they finally stepped into the floo. With a final "Merwy Chwis'mas!" they were gone in a flash of flame.

Narcissa and Lucius had made it clear to Draco that they were not going to stay any longer. They stepped out of the room after wishing Harry a happy holidays and kissing each child on their foreheads. Well, Narcissa kissed them. Lucius fondly patted each of their heads. 

"Dragon, we know when we're intruding. Thank you for dinner, last night. You are a fabulous cook." She smiled at her son. "We'll be back for Scorpius later," she whispered in his ear. "Would you like us to take Teddy as well?" Draco looked over at Harry and shook his head.

 

"No, I can bring them over later. Don't worry about it, mother. Be careful." He kissed her cheek then shook his father's hand and within moments they disapparated with a resounding crack.

Teddy loved his book set from Scorpius, Draco absolutely adored the tie, and Harry couldn't stop laughing at the muggle t-shirt Scorpius forced him into that proudly proclaimed  **"I defeated the Dark Lord"**  with a miniature Harry figure dancing across it.

Teddy opened Harry's gift next. It was his own quill and ink set. The young boy seemed excited to finally be able to write his thoughts down. Not to mention it went great with the  _blue paneled journal_ his Gam had gotten for him.

Harry had gotten Scorpius his own in house potions kit and a practice broom so he could learn to fly. The young boy jumped on the broom and nodded towards Harry when he exclaimed be careful and flew out of the room.

It was only a practice broom so the speed was a bit quicker than running or jogging and it didn't get more than 2 or 3 feet off of the ground. Draco looked at Harry with narrowed eyes and the ebony haired man smiled widely back causing the blonde to laugh before looking at Teddy who sat on the floor with tears running down his face but a huge grin cracking it open. The boy stood and before Harry could register what was going on, threw himself at Draco in a huge hug.

"Thanks, Dad," said Teddy pulling away and finally looking Draco in the eyes. "I love it."

Harry who was a bit taken aback smiled then looked down towards where Teddy was before he hugged Draco and saw a large photo album. He summoned it to himself and was surprised to say the least when he saw Tonks and Remus smiling up at him and waving. As he flipped through the book he noticed there were pictures of him as well. Recent pictures and those much older ones that looked clipped from papers or sent from people who went to school with them. The same for Teddy's parents. Some pictures were clippings while others were obviously from friends. Harry looked over at Draco again and smiled. He didn't see himself getting rid of this blonde anytime soon.

"Here, Harry," said Draco handing him the last present under the tree. It was wrapped in red paper with a huge golden bow. Harry snapped his finger and handed Draco the small felt silver box  wrapped in green ribbon that appeared. He opened his gift first and chuckled to himself. "I know you rarely use your wand, but I would really appreciate it if you put it somewhere other than your back pocket."

 

"I can't say I don't like it, it  _is_  my style"

 

"And what style would that be, love?"

 

"Well, my lack of style."

 

"That sounds better. Now Teddy I think you have one more gift," Draco said looking back at the small boy who was now sporting Harry's ebony locks again, but slicked back Malfoy style with his natural blue eye color.

 

"Really?"

 

"Yeah, you need a bedroom for when you stay over, don't you?" Teddy looked surprised but nodded. "Go pick one. Pick a whole floor if you want." Draco shrugged and smiled down at Teddy before Scorpius came in with shrieking laughter still on his broom.

 

"C'mon, Teddy. I can show you all the cool rooms!"

 

"Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Papa." Teddy spoke while hugging each of them in turn. "This is the best Christmas ever."

 

"Race you?" Asked Scorpius still floating on the little practice broom.

 

"Scor-" started Draco standing up and turning to look at his son.

 

"C'mon, Teddy, before Daddy catches us!" They both giggled and sped off through the manor.

When he turned back around Harry was on one knee with the small box in his hand. He pulled and released the green ribbon then slowly opened the box to reveal a startling onyx colored ring with a row of emeralds and rubies wrapped tightly around the middle.

"I know it's a little early, but I can't see myself not wanting to be with you..." Harry looked up into Draco's eyes to make sure the blonde was listening. "I've wanted you for so long, so now finally having you isn't something I'm just going to give up. I love you. Merlin, you don't know how much. I love Scorpius. I want you guys in my family just as much and just as often as Teddy. When he called you dad it all fell into place for me. I want to have a family with you, Dray, this family. W-Will you marry me?"

Draco stepped forward as if it were any other the day and placed the ring on his own finger then pulled Harry up.

"What's with all the fuss? You have me and I'm not going anywhere. What, got scared, Potter?"

 

Harry smiled at his fiancé.

 

"You wish."


	19. -19-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> { warning: sex }  
> i mean, im terrible at writing (smut included), but it's there!

**_{warning again_** ⚠️ ** _sex}_**

 

The couple smiled at each other before Draco shoved Harry into the next room.

"Come on, Potter. I told you we have plans today. An engagement won't change anything. Actually it makes it better."

 

"Are you going to tell me what those plans are?"

 

"That would ruin the surprise."

 

"But I don't like surprises," said Harry turning back to the blonde in order to pout. Draco rolled his eyes.

 

"Well you're going to like this one. Now shut up and go change." Draco pushed Harry in front of him again before following him up the stairs.

As they passed through Scorp's floor they stopped by his room as well.

"Teddy, have you picked a room yet?" Draco asked kneeling to eye level. Teddy nodded excitedly.

 

"I really like the one on the other side of the library," He was practically squealing and Harry couldn't hold back his laugh.

 

"What's so funny, love?" Asked Draco turning towards the grinning git behind him.

 

"It's nothing, really. I just found it funny how he has the room next to library back at Number 12 too." Harry chuckled again and Teddy smiled shyly while blushing slightly, causing his hair to take a pale pink color. Harry spotted the cotton candy hair and immediately stopped laughing in shock. Teddy looked down at himself confused then his eyes got huge as though he had did something wrong, but before he could change it back Harry was laughing again.

 

"Sorry, Papa..." Teddy spoke while looking down again fixing his hair. He was determined not to see disappointment in Harry's eyes. He got enough of that from his Gam when he tried but couldn't morph as quickly as his mother could.

 

"You-" Harry snorted which sent him into a new line of laughs. "You have nothing t-to apologize for, pup. Your magic is supposed to run amok. That's what you're going to learn at Hogwarts."

 

"So you aren't mad...?" Harry immediately sobered up at the sound of Teddy's voice.

 

"Of course not." Teddy nodded to himself as if to confirm what his Papa had told him before timidly smiling back at him.

 

"Now," said Draco redirecting the situation as he stood and began brushing himself off. "Harry and I-"

 

"Papa," corrected Scorpius. "You and Papa." Draco nodded at him.

 

"Your  _Papa_  and I, are going out for a while, so you two need to get dressed to go to my parent's house." Scorpius turned to Teddy.

 

"Grand-mère and Grand-père's house is really fun. They have big fruit trees! Sometimes," he attempted to whisper into Teddy's ear. "Grand-père let's me eat the apples fresh!"

For reasons Harry couldn't understand, Teddy's eyes lit up at the prospect of eating fresh fruit. Harry on the other hand much rather preferred sweets or the pies that Mrs. Weasley could make with the fruit once it had been picked.

"Get ready, we have to leave soon." And with that Draco turned and left, pushing Harry into the bedroom and towards the closet. "We have to get ready too."

 

"Dray, you're clothes are too small for me," Harry spoke confused as he walked forward.

 

"I'm not an idiot, Potter. I planned ahead." He walked over to the walk-in closet.

 _Of course the vain git has a walk-in closet,_ thought Harry, smiling small.

"I picked a nice green tie, because it looks great with your eyes." He held the tie up next to Harry's face as if to confirm his thoughts. Draco stepped back blushing before sliding his wand out to cast  _tempus._ His eyes grew almost comically large as he pulled out the rest of Harry's outfit. "We only have 2 hours to get you to look presentable!"

 

"Aw, thanks, Dray. Tell me how you really feel," the ebony haired man spoke sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

 

"Harry, you know I love you, but your hair is a kneazle pit." Draco smiled towards his fiancé before kissing him on the cheek. "Now get dressed so we can fix it." He placed his hands on his hips and waited, as though Harry wasn't going to prepare otherwise.

He watched as Harry peeled his t-shirt off then removed his pajama bottoms. He was wearing pants so fitted beneath them that Draco could clearly see the outline of Harry's... Draco looked away gulping. He wasn't going to think about it. They have somewhere to be. There isn't enough time to fully appreciate Harry's body the way he deserves. He shook his head, but still found his gaze rising to run across Harry's chest and skim down his biceps.

"Draco, are you okay?" Harry asked stepping closer, causing the blonde to blush. He gulped.

 

"Yes, absolutely. Just...thinking." He looked away as Harry finally reached him. The heat was radiating off of the barely clothed man.

 

"Are you sure? You look kind of pale. Wait- are you blushing?"

 

"You're really close, love." Draco's voice was trembling. His resolve was crumbling quickly. They didhave an  _entire_  2 hours. Draco decided if anything happened he could most definitely still manage to wrangle Potter's hair into place before they left.

 

"What's that supposed to mean? I thought you like when I was this close to you..." Harry smirked and it was then that he realized that Harry knew what he was doing.

 

"Stop it, Potter..." Draco whined, but he knew his resolve was no longer there. If this is what Harry wanted. He would most definitely get it.

 

"Or what? You're going to punish me?"

 

"Oh, I'm sure you'd love that." Draco gripped his wand and cast both a locking and silencing charm on the room and the door before pulling Harry into him for a soul searing kiss.

 

"I've been thinking about this since I first saw you in the  
office," provided Harry moving his head to the side as Draco began kissing down his throat.

 

"So I'm going to have to defy all your expectations, huh, Potter?"

Harry's chuckle got lost in his throat as one of Draco's hands moved up to tweak his nipple. The other hand slowly moved down his body only stopping to caress his sides before slipping into his boxers to stroke his half hard prick. Draco stopped stroking him before walking towards his bed slowly, stripping as he went.

"C'mon, Potter. I've seen you play quidditch, but now I want to see you ride  _me_." He pulled his briefs off before leaning back onto his elbows and looking up at Harry through his lashes as the raven haired man peeled off his own underwear, only blushing slightly at the view of pre-cum already leaking from his cock.

Harry crawled onto the bed between Draco's legs and let his eyes wander down the pale body until he reached the trail of pale blonde curls that led downward. Starting at Draco's navel he kissed and licked and nipped while stroking the blonde's prick. Malfoy gasped at the contact and Harry removed his hand with a smirk as he moved his head down to kiss the tip.

Draco bit his lip and turned his head as Harry slowly opened his mouth and licked the tip before taking it into his mouth. If he looked too long he was going to be done before they really started. He shook his head. They had other things to do, but Harry's mouth felt so good wrapped around him. His tongue slowly praising the throbbing organ in his mouth. Draco held his breath as Harry held his hips down and forced himself further onto Draco, until he had all of him in his mouth. Slowly he pulled off and Draco released the air he hadn't realized he was keeping hostage.

"Dray, I need you," Harry whined looking into Draco's eyes as he licked the underside of his fiancé's dick, taking his balls in his mouth for a moment, releasing them with a slight popping noise. With a snap of his fingers Harry had himself lubed and prepped. And moved to angle himself above Draco.

 

"Next time," said the blonde. "I get to take my time with you." Harry nodded as he leaned down and kissed Draco on the lips, lowering himself down on the throbbing prick beneath him.

 

"Whatever you say, love," joked Harry, gasping once he had bottomed out, causing Draco to moan. Draco held Harry there for a moment, placing his hands on his hips.

 

"You're so tight and hot. You feel so good, baby."

He lifted himself slowly before setting a pace much quicker. The next time he came down he decided to grind his hips down onto Draco. The blonde let another moan escape as the ebony haired man above him gasped and moaned his name while impaling himself, forcing his own cock to smack against his abdomen.

Draco looked up and his breathing hitched as Harry tilted his head back in pleasure. He leaned up and spoke into Harry's ear hotly.

"You feel great wrapped around my cock, love. The way your hole grips me so tight while you slam yourself down onto me."

Harry sucked in a breath.

 _"Fuck yes,"_ Harry spoke and looked down to see surprise in Draco's eyes and blushed, firmly shutting his mouth.

 

"Oh, fuck. Harry, you don't know how hot that was. I learn something about you everyday." He flipped them over so now he was pounding into he emerald eyed adonis. "Say something else in parseltongue."

 

 _"I want you to cum in my ass, Draco."_ Draco sucked in another breath and pounded into the man faster, raising a hand to wrap around Harry's throbbing erection between them. He tugged at him until he was stroking at the same pace he was fucking him.

 

"I definitely understood my name." He kissed Harry again, before moving down to nibble his ear and suck on his neck. "Did you say you wanted to be my slut, Harry? Always hungry for my cock?"

Harry nodded fiercely before speaking again.

 

 _"Yes, Draco, please."_ Harry's senses were overloaded with Draco. His love. His hands. His lips. His prick. Harry gulped down a moan he was sure would break the silencing charm before staring into Draco's eyes. "D-Draco...I'm gonna-"

 

"Me too, Harry." They both tilted their heads back with a groan. Harry released over both of their chests as he yelped out Draco's name. Draco came not even a moment later with a groan of Harry's name as he bit down on his shoulder, leaving a mark that was sure to be a deep bruise soon.

 

"Have I told you I loved you?" questioned Harry peeking through lidded eyes. Draco pulled out of him and forced Harry into a sitting position before dragging him behind him to the shower.

 

"Oh, no you don't!" He kissed Harry on the lips lightly then forced him into freezing water to wake him up. "I love you too, but we have somewhere to be. I haven't forgotten. I just got sidetracked."

 

"Damn," said Harry smirking as he turned the water up a little so it wasn't cold and pulling Draco in with him. "I thought I almost had you."

 

"Love, you can have me whenever you like, but we do have appearances to keep up and children to care for," Draco said only half joking as he lowered his head to drop a kiss to the corner of Harry's lips. He looked into those emerald eyes with a wicked smile as he finished. "And if we miss this event, Harry Potter, so help me I will personally see about your demise."

 

"Understood," said Harry saluting playfully, even though he did gulp back a bit of his fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't think there is a definite top or bottom in their relationship (they alternate), but i do personally prefer top!Draco unless its like hung!Harry  
> i also really like Draco with a parseltongue!kink :)
> 
> \-- luci xoxo


	20. -20-

"Keep your eyes closed!" Draco hissed, plucking Harry's nose.

 

"We just apparated! Can I get my bearings before you start beating me around?" Harry whined, only half-heartedly.

 

"No, we're almost there." Draco sped his pace and approached someone with a voice Harry could vaguely place.

 

"Oh, great. You made it on time."

 

"Did you expect us to be tardy?"

 

"To be honest, I didn't think  _you_  were going to show up at all."

Draco rolled his eyes and pulled a still blinded Harry up the stairs and into the back of Flourish and Blotts, before forcing him to take a seat then sitting beside him.

"You can open your eyes now, love." At his request Harry slowly opened his eyes as if he were expecting a big loud affair.

 

"Why are we in Flourish & Blotts?" He asked while looking around and stopped when he saw a sign that read  _Harry Potter: Year 1, The Stone. "_ It's published," he said more than asked in awe.

 

"I told you it would be done by holiday break. Being that it's about you it may have gotten a bit more press than originally thought," said Draco with slight amusement as wizards and witches of all ages poured through the door and into the store. All of their eyes were on the pair in the front of the room. The face he noticed first was that of Hermione, rushing through the crowd to slam her hands on the table.

 

"Harry James Potter!" He shrank down in his seat and looked up at her.

 

"Hey 'Mione..."

 

"That's all you have to say? It's Christmas and I get 5 different floo calls saying you have an event for a  _book_  and everyone is saying its your true unaltered story. It was just released a few days ago and it's already a best seller!"

That seemed like news to Draco who didn't know whether to be proud or terrified.

"Draco wrote it. I'm just here for moral support." Harry tried reasoning to no avail.

 

"This Draco?" She screeched. "And it's supposed to be the true unaltered version?"

 

"Wow, and here I thought we were becoming friends, Granger," drawled Draco falling back into his old role.

 

"Draco, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just- we've known you for awhile- how am I supposed to believe you wouldn't paint yourself to be some victim? Why  _wouldn't_  you make yourself seem better to us than you really were?" He looked down at the table after she finished talking. But her gaze on him was stayed rude and unwavering.

 

"Because I promise I've hated myself more violently than you ever will." He looked into her eyes with a burning glare they hadn't seen in years. "I know what I've done. I have no reason to hide behind falsities. I was a terrible person to a lot of people, I probably still am, but I wouldn't do that to Harry. Not anymore. He deserves better." He stood up and turned away from the table heading back towards the back door.

 

"Dray? Wait, where are you- Draco?"

 

"I'm sorry, I can't do this. I'll see you at home, Harry."

 

"What the hell Hermione?" Harry hissed as people came closer to the table sensing no problems now that Draco had left.

 

"Harry I- Sorry...I didn't think-"

 

"That's a first." He crossed his arms while looking up at his best friend with a coldness he couldn't figure out the home of.

 

"I couldn't have imagined he would respond that way. I just-"

 

"Hermione," Harry huffed out a breath. "I know everybody is just putting up with him for me or for Scorp, but he is a great guy. He's funny and loving and self sacrificing to a fault- he just- he- I love him." Harry looked down as he spoke quietly. "I proposed."

 

Hermione gasped. "Harry I had no idea- I-"

 

"He said yes." he didn't allow himself a break between words. "He wanted me to be here. It was a surprise and I could tell he was nervous. His hands were shaking the entire way here," he chuckled, looking away with tears in his eyes. "I think what you did just proved his suspicions about what people thought of him. That even his friends think that way about him..." Harry looked back at her.

 

"Harry I didn't know," she pleaded, but he just stared at her unblinking with that angry crease between his brows.

 

"Do you know he rarely leaves the house? When we go on dates we usually go to muggle places: diners or ice cream parlors. He comes to visit me at work sometimes through the floo, but even that was mostly to finish the book. He just stays cooped up in there, because he doesn't want to disturb anyone else. He knows how they feel about him..." Harry shook his head. "I can't do this either. I have to make sure he's okay..."

 

"Where the hell did Draco go?" Asked that voice Harry thought was so familiar before.

 

"Zabini?" He asked looking over towards the handsome dark skinned man in front of him.

Blaise wore an all black Armani suit with a wizard robe thrown loosely over it. He had a gold tie that matched the underlying of his robe and called to the golden specks in his eyes. His hair had grown out over the years and was now a series of black and brown dreadlocks adorned with golden beads which he wore in a half up ponytail.

"Potter, where did your boyfriend go?" Asked Blaise checking his watch. "The signing starts in less than...6 minutes."

 

"Fiancé," Harry mumbled. "He left."

 

"What the fuck do you mean he left?"

 

"He left. Like he went home. Sorry." Harry shrugged sadly then turned on the spot and apparated back to Malfoy Manor.

Draco wasn't in the study or the library or bathroom or the bedroom. The house was too big to just continue to check random rooms so Harry stopped for a minute to think, before heading outside to the garden that stretched about half the entirety of the back yard. It was like a giant maze of flowers and bushes and trees, though they never seem to dwindle with the seasons. Harry did a tracking charm and it led him the the middle of the maze where Draco sat on the steps on the edge of a gazebo covered in roses and fairy lights.

"Romantic isn't it?" Draco asked kicking his feet and sending fallen rose petals into the air.

 

"I wouldn't know," Harry said sitting next to the blonde and laying his head on his shoulder. "Not really into romance. I prefer blokes with big pricks and bigger attitudes." Draco shoved him in the shoulder.

 

"I am romantic, you git." They laughed together for a bit before Harry spoke.

 

"Sorry about 'Mione."

 

"No, it's fine. I know how she feels now. I can't force her to change her opinions about me- about us." He scoffed. "And here I was thinking I could have friends. That I could have a relationship, a job!" He stood and started to walk away.

 

"Draco Malfoy don't you dare walk away from me."

 

"I'm sorry, Harry. I really thought we could get married and have this-" he motioned around them. "this family. It's clear I was wrong. I have enough information to finish the second book. You and Teddy should go back to Number 12. It'd be best if we didn't force this. Okay?" He slid off the new engagement ring and tossed it to Harry whose seeker reflexes stayed in tact.

 

"Dray, I love you. Doesn't that mean anything?" Harry was standing now with tears running down his face. His grip on the ring was tight as he continued to hold it out for Draco to take back as if he'd just dropped it and not thrown it away.

 

"It means everything, Harry, but I love you too and that means I have to let you know when you deserve better." After that he really did walk away. "I'll drop Teddy off when he and Scorp get back. You should go."

 

Harry loved him. So he did.


	21. -21-

A chime went off in Number 12 Grimmauld Place letting Harry Potter know the floo was about to go. He entered the sitting room and waited a moment in front of the fireplace before Teddy finally came stumbling through.

"Dad didn't say it was gonna shoot me out like that!" he exclaimed surprised- out of curiosity or excitement, Harry wasn't sure.

 

"Yeah, I don't think he said a lot of things..." Harry mumbled to himself before he took a deep breath. "Did he tell you anything?"

 

"He said I was going to stay with you for a while, but Scorpius wasn't coming with us." Teddy looked kind of angry. "He said we couldn't even visit. I hate when adults do that!"

 

"Sorry, pup. You head on upstairs and prepare for dinner I'll order in." Harry walked towards the kitchen after hugging Teddy and ruffling his hair.

 

\---8---

 

Draco published the next book as promised, but wasn't at any of the releases. The next time Harry saw striking blonde hair was what seemed like an eternity later. Of course Draco was always in his dreams, but the first time they were almost face to face was the first day Scorpius started Hogwarts, almost 6 years later.

Harry stood on the platform seeing Teddy off. Harry wore his thirties well and smiled at Teddy, who was more into being call Ted these days.

"It'll be fine, pops," he spoke with a wide grin and a real confidence. He had grew up the last few years he wasn't an awkward kid so much anymore. He had turned 16 earlier that year and he was one of the most excited starting 5th years Harry could see. When Harry nodded but didn't move Teddy looked at him more carefully. "Are you coming on the train or you floo-ing over later?"

 

"Uh later. Just uhm- watch out for him...okay?"

 

"Who? Scorp? We haven't seen them in years, pops. I'm sure he'll be fine." Teddy never told Harry how much it hurt him when his new family came together and fell apart just as quickly. By the time he was 13 his grandmother had died leaving everything to him and Harry in the will. Harry nodded then ruffled Teddy's hair before the boy changed it back and rushed onto the train to talk to some of his other Hufflepuff friends.

He saw Rose preparing for her first train ride like a first year Hermione all over again and waved at her. She happily smiled before waving back. He hadn't talked to Ron or Hermione since that accident in the book store. Of course Hermione had tried to apologize, but he didn't want to hear it. It wouldn't change anything. At this point he couldn't tell who was more of a recluse, himself or Draco. He knew it was pretty close.

He turned to leave when something slammed into him and he heard a small "Unff!"

"Sorry sir! I wasn't looking where I was going. I have a bit of an attention issue and I'm kind of excited, but really nervous and my Dad went off to have another cry and-" he took a breath. When he did Harry turned to look at him and smiled small. His hair wasn't slicked back or pompous, but he was clearly a Malfoy. Different size, same Scorpius.

 

"It's fine, Scorp. Are you ready for first year?" The boy looked at him like he was trying to place the face before he looked surprised with the beginnings of tears in his eyes.

 

"Papa?" He said almost in a whisper before wrapping his arms around Harry. Then pulling away with a gasp. "Father is here somewhere! You should talk to him- you shou-"

 

"Calm down, Scorp. If your dad doesn't want to talk, he won't talk. No point in pushing him." Harry felt his heart swell looking at the boy in front of him. "You've gotten so big!" Harry said almost to himself.

 

"And I'm writing now, papa! Just like Teddy used to." He got excited again for a minute before looking around Harry. "Is Teddy here? Is he with you? I haven't seen him in ages! We heard about his Gam though. I am sorry..."

 

"Teddy is already on the train. He and a few of his friends from Hufflepuff got on not too long ago. It shouldn't be too hard to find him, though." The train whistle blew and they hugged before the small blonde had to jet onto the train.

 

"See you at school, Papa!" Scorpius called out before hurrying through the train looking for his adoptive brother. Once he found the right compartment he knocked timidly.

A brown skin girl slightly taller than him and already in her uniform answered the door. She wore wire framed glasses and had her hair cut short with the sides tapered in. She was average size, but her curves were prominent. Her height is what surprised him more than the wings that seemed to sprout at random intervals from her shoes, mostly because he had gotten his height from his father and he knew himself to be quite tall for an 11 year old.

"What?" She asked bored but curious with her head tilted slightly to forward as if she couldn't understand why he had to look up at her.

 

"May I join your compartment? I was actually looking for Teddy, but I don't know if he'd want to see me."

 

"What are you his little boy toy or something?" She asked sarcastically. But Scorpius looked surprised.

 

"No! He's my brother. I haven't seen him in a while..." He looked down. "I shouldn't have came, I'm sorry. I'll go find an empty comp-"

 

"Who is it, Tess?" says a voice from behind her.

 

"Some kid, says he's your brother." Not even a moment later there was a head beside the girl and it's hair quickly flashed Malfoy blonde.

 

"Hey, Scorpius," Said Teddy with a smile on his face, doing his best to keep his tears from falling. "Tess, move. Let'em in."

 

"Wait," said a voice once Scorpius was inside the compartment with Teddy, Tess and 2 of his other friends. "You're that Malfoy kid right?"

 

"Well, yes," said Scorpius confused as to why that mattered.

 

"Just ignore them, Scorp. I missed you buddy." Teddy pulled him in for a hug and let his hair remain that platinum blonde to make sure Scorpius could stay comfortable. He knew he told Harry that Scorpius would be fine, but now that he was within view he could be sure of it.

He smiled at his little brother as the train finally pulled off. This would definitely be a year to remember.


	22. -22-

Scorpius waved to Teddy and the other Hufflepuffs before following Hagrid to the boats for the first years journey to the castle.

They rode across the pond with an air of awed silence before breaking off into excited squeals.

Inside the castle Scorpius was awestruck. He knew that Hogwarts was beautiful he had seen it in books on in the papers. He had even read  _Hogwarts: A History_  but nothing could have prepared him for actually being in the building itself. He looked up as a woman stood before them and gave a welcome speech, but his attention went towards the moving staircases once she headed in a different direction.

He walked in the direction of the first staircase as if in a trance when there was a hand gripping his shoulder.

"We're not supposed to go anywhere until the Headmistress comes back." The girl who spoke was almost as tall as he was. She had light brown almost caramel skin with a few freckles sprinkled across her face and she kept her wild red mane in a ponytail only leaving a few curling bits to frame her face. Scorpius blushed.

 

"I wasn't trying to leave, it's just I have an attention issue and the staircases move! I thought I saw someone up there- I mean, I probably did because there are moving portraits and ghosts all around. Did you know that-"

 

"You talk a lot when you're nervous, Malfoy," she responded before turning around. He furrowed his brows. He did not! He talked a lot  _all the time._ Who was she to know how much he talked anyway? He just thought he'd share what he learned. He liked learning. And another thing, how'd she even know his name? He opened his mouth to ask when a huge door opened and the woman he assumed to be the Headmistress came out.

 

"Is everyone ready to be sorted? Of course you are. Follow me." She smiled lovingly at all the students before she turned and led the group of first years through the middle of the Great Hall. "Sheryl Ashbury?" Called the headmistress as the sorting began. A girl who looked as though she were drowning in her robes with a small button nose and huge brown eyes sat on the stool apprehensively as the hat was eased onto her head.

 

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat called and she smiled brighter than Scorpius would have thought possible for her tiny face before running over to the table on one side of the room almost tripping over her huge robes.

There were smiles and gasps and talking all around them as more students names were called and they were sent to their tables.

 

"Rose Granger-Weasley?" The girl from before pushed her way to the front and Scorpius' mouth dropped. That was Rosey? He hadn't seen her since he was- well he wasn't sure. He hadn't really seen anyone but his tutors. He never did end up going to  _Dumbledore Primary Wizards Academy_ , his father just finished homeschooling him after  _the incident._ And that was the end of that. Rose had her eyes shut tight, but the grin on her face showed her eagerness.

 

"GRYFFINDOR!" She smirked as the hat came off her head and she skipped down to join her cousins at the lion table.

Once she was seated his eyes floated above her head towards the ceiling and its ever changing constellations, before he found the one he was named for and smiled. Someone pushed him and he looked over surprised.

"It's your turn, Malfoy," they whispered pushing him forward. He tried to see who it was that pushed him but there were too many unknown faces. So he turned and rushed to take his seat on the stool before giving everyone a shy smile and look at the aged woman in front of him.

 

"Sorry, Headmistress. The ceiling- the constellations- they're very nice." He pointed to one in particular. "That's the one I was named after."

 

"It's alright, Mr. Malfoy." She placed the hat on his head and once it screamed a house it was like the room held it's breath.

 

"RAVENCLAW!" He looked around at the surprised faces.

 

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked looking back up towards the woman who was speechless. "Sorry, headmistress." He stood once she removed the hat and walked sulkily towards the table covered in blue and bronze adornments.

There was random burst of laughter and the blonde looked up to see Harry Potter sitting at the teacher's table. His papa couldn't stop laughing and it just so happened to break the silence in the room causing everything to continue without a hitch. He smiled at Harry who took no time smiling back and sending him a thumbs up.

A boy across from him nudged his toe. He had black hair that fell- well everywhere- but piercing blue eyes and Scorpius couldn't help but stare.

"Well, go on, tell us how you did that then," He looked at Scorpius expectantly.

 

"Did what exactly?"

 

"You're a Malfoy right?" The boy asked.

 

"Yeah, what does-"

 

"There hasn't been a Malfoy outside of Slytherin, like ever!" squealed a girl next to him. "Everyone knows that!" She nodded across the table. "That's my brother Nick. I'm Natalie. We're Second years. It's nice to meet you, Scorpius." She smiled.

 

"I think you talk as much as I do," observed Scorpius. "Do people ever tell you to shut up? They tell me pretty often, but I never seem to notice. My father says I should probably stop rambling so much, but my Papa used to say I should 'embrace who I am' or something like that." He looked determinedly at Natalie. "I can never remember. Which is odd, because I have a great memory."

 

"You do talk a lot," Natalie nodded. "I like you." She smiled at him holding her hand out. "I can tell we're going to be great friends. Right, Nick?" Nick who had started reading something that was laid on the table looked up and gave Scorpius a half smile that he decided melted his heart on the spot.

 

"Sure, great  _friends_." He looked back down at his book as Scorpius blushed.

 

"Is it okay if we call you Scorp or something," asked Natalie using a pencil to pin up her own dark hair.

 

"That's what my friends do."

 

"See, now we're officially friends."

They grew quiet as the final names were called, because everyone was ready for the feast.

 

"Jaden Pace?" Scorpius glanced away from watching the ghosts fly in and out of the tables and looked up on the stage to see a boy obviously his age with a goofy grin as he sat on the stage waiting for the sorting hat to be placed on his head.

 

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat called before it was removed and the boy looked more than a little happy.

 

"Ah man! I told my mum I wasn't gonna be in Hufflepuff like her! I'm my own man!" He jumped down and danced his way over the the Slytherin table while Scorpius laughed.

The rest of the night went by pretty quickly. After the welcome speech the feast was served and he ate with more fervor than he thought possible for himself, although he did try to keep his Malfoy manners. Once he was showed the common room then his dorm he sat at his desk and began drafting a letter to his father.

 

_Dear Father,_

~~_I don't know if you ever got the chance to run into him, but I saw Papa-_ ~~

 

He scratched it out and tried again for his father's sake.

 

_I saw Mr. Potter when I was getting on the Hogwarts Express. He looked very happy to see me and I'm sure he would be happy to see you as well. Teddy says that he makes a great teacher and he even learned to cook a little bit. I've already made a few friends with some of the second years from my house. Speaking of, I got sorted into Ravenclaw! Can you believe it? Almost nobody else could. They said that a Malfoy had never been placed out of Slytherin. I hope it's okay that I did. I'm very excited about it. They have huge bookshelves in the common room and I think a few of them are on languages! Please write back soon. Love You._

_\- S.H Malfoy_

 

_P.S Mr. Potter was very proud that I got into the house I wanted._

 

He folded the parchment but stuffed it haphazardly into an envelope before sealing it and sending it to his father with his small, speckled, tawny owl. Once the letter was off he closed the window and prepared for bed. He laid down on his four poster after closing his curtains manually. He would properly meet his dorm mates in the morning when they all got their schedules. He nodded to himself.

The last thought that crossed his mind was how happy he was for everything to be working itself out then he was drifting into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i lean towards POC!Hermione (and Harry) usually, which is why Rose is described as light skinned or tan, because she's mixed. there is a really good fanart out there by Anna Zeng that really inspires how i see Rose. she has curly red hair pinned up with her wand stuck behind her ear and she's wearing a big puffy gryffindor winter jacket. its g r e a t.
> 
> \-- luci xoxo


	23. -23-

The next morning, Draco almost ran into the wall on his way to get Scorpius' letter. Sure it had only been a day. Maybe less, but he rarely let Scorpius too far out of his sight. He refused to allow his son to get hurt because people didn't like  _him._

He finally let the owl in with minimal effort and untied Scorp's letter. As he read it he smiled but he couldn't stop the tears from falling down his face.

He noticed Scorpius' quick fix of Harry's name and bit back a sob. Of course he had seen Harry on the platform. It was one of the reasons he parted from Scorpius to hide out in the bathroom. He knew Harry would spot his son and try to help him in case anything went wrong. There was definitely something to be said about Potter's unwavering need to save people. He continued reading and rolled his eyes. There was something entirely different to be said about his need to love them as well. Draco knew Potter cared about Scorpius before, but to hear (or read in this case he supposed) that Pott-Harry _still_  cared? It made him feel worse about pushing the love of his life away.

He stood abruptly at the thought before pulling out his wand and summoning what he would need to write a response to his son.

 

_Scorp,_

_I'm glad you're happy. And I'm even happier that you were able to break the Malfoy chain and do something you value more than almost anything: learn. I wish you the best of luck at school. You don't have to write everyday, but I would like frequent updates on how you're getting along. Tell all of your teachers I say hello ~~and if you see Mr. Potter-~~_

 

It was Draco's turn to make an effort. He scratched through the title as if he knew it would hurt Harry to be referred to as such and continued.

~~_\- if you see your Papa_ _-_ ~~

He scratched it out again. He just wasn't going to mention it. Something he remembered about picking at old wounds and whatnot.

 

_Don't forget that I love you Scorpius._

_\- D. Malfoy_

 

He calmly called over Scorp's owl and gave it a few pats on the back. He gave it a few owl treats before he sent it back with his own letter. He was about to start on breakfast when the floo lit up. He had long since stop using his muggle phone. The only people who talked to him were his parents, Blaise and Pansy. He had been sure he had hidden himself from any and everyone else.

He walked towards his fireplace and looked around for any sign that someone was going to call him, a misplaced letter or something. When he found nothing he approached the fireplace uneasily before spelling the floo open then gripping his wand tightly as he waited to see who would come out. He almost fainted when that mop of black hair stumbled through. When Harry had finally found his stability he seemed to know exactly where Draco's eyes were because the next second he was swimming in those pools of mercury he missed so much.

Before Draco could shut himself down a tear fell from his eye and Harry had engulfed him in a hug before standing slightly on his toes and capturing the blonde's mouth in a kiss. The kiss felt as though the world only consisted of them. It was fluid and soft, but rough in all the ways they needed it to be. Harry's calloused hands held Draco by the waist as tightly as he could get away with. Draco's slim fingers were locked into the raven locks pulling Harry so much closer. They kissed as though they wanted to devour the other just to keep them forever.

"If you ever do that to me again-" Harry started with his eyes closed still breathing against Draco's mouth.

 

"I'm so sorry," Draco breathed back before pulling Harry in for another kiss. When they're mouths were properly bruised and swollen Harry gave him a chaste kiss before moving back.

 

"I have to get back to work...I just- I couldn't-"

 

"Harry?"

 

"Yes?"

 

"Your rambling."

 

"I've missed you." Draco smiled shyly looking away from him. Harry looked at him like nothing was more important. "I love you, Draco. You know that, don't you? That isn't going to change."

 

"I missed you too, Harry. Believe me when I say I should have never let you leave. I was just so-I love you so much. I didn't want people to hate you because of me. You don't deserve that. After all you've done? You deserve the world and I didn't think I could give you that unless I handed you a pair of rose-colored glasses too."

 

"Dray, you never have to hide anything from me. I thought that was what was great about us. We're there for each other, even if all the other person really needs is to be pushed off of their high horse."

Draco chuckled at that.

"Yeah, I guess you're right...for once."

The grin that broke out across Harry's face was like the sun finally rising after years of dark skies.

"Floo to my office later for dinner?" Harry asked still facing Draco while backing into the fireplace.

 

"Wouldn't miss it." He looked around before setting his eyes on Harry again. "I'll reset the wards again, so you can just coming in next time. The house got kind of boring without you here."

 

"Well of course it did, I'm the fun dad," Harry joked before throwing down the floo powder and being swept up and spit out into his office back at Hogwarts. As soon as he returned to his office there was a knock on the door before someone just walked in.

 

"Pops?"

 

"Yeah, Teddy?" Said Harry standing and brushing soot from his clothes.

 

"Are we still on for father-son dinner tonight? Favorite day of the weeeeeek," he asked singing the last bit playfully.

Harry picked up a throw pillow from the couch before tossing it at him. Teddy laughed, but caught it right before it was able to knock him in the face.

"Yeah, but I may have invited someone." Teddy blanched and his playful mood instantly died. He knew that no one was going to be good enough for his dad but Draco, he just didn't get why Harry insisted on going on dates with men he barely knew. It wasn't as if it went anywhere

 

"Who was it this time? The guy who came running after the mail owl last week? I'm pretty sure he was a squib and more than a little obsessed with you."

 

"What's wrong with squibs," Harry asked crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. Teddy mirrored his posture, crossing his own arms before his hair flashed dark red for a second or two.

 

"Nothing, I found out he was the father of one of the Gryffindor jerks who shot a rocket at Michael last year." He shrugged, but his shoulders were still tense. "So who is it? Free period isn't going to last all day, Pops."

 

"Draco." Harry spoke quickly and looked down so he couldn't see what he thought was going to be anger that broke out over Teddy's face. The kid had went through an angry phase when he was around 13 and he hated even hearing the name Malfoy.

 

"Finally," breathed Teddy happily running over to hug Harry in a way that went against his usual cool guy façade. "Does that mean I can invite Scorpius?" Harry nodded with a smile of his own that he couldn't contain.

 

"That'd be great. Just bring him here at the usual time. Alright?" Teddy nodded and Harry checked the time. "Your free period is almost over."

 

"So is yours," said Teddy running out of the room to avoid another pillow attack. He walked down the hallway with a huge smile on his face. He was going to have a family again. If he giggled like a schoolgirl, well, he had every right to.


	24. -24-

The day was moving way too slowly in Teddy's opinion. Now, Teddy wasn't a seer by any stretch of the imagination, but he knew that tonight was going to change everything. Everyone was finally going to be happy.

Of course he knew what happy was. Sure, he knew what it felt like. He remembered being happy when he was younger. He knew what it looked like on his dad's face. He even knew what it looked like on Scorp's face, but he was ready to see what genuine happiness looked like on his own face again.

Teddy was much like his Remus when it came to his education, he loved to learn, but he was more like his mother when it came to how he treated that knowledge. Harry had always told him that he was a Hufflepuff because his mom was, but he knew the truth. He was a Hufflepuff because he cared about loyalty. He cared about the dedication his dad was making to keep them together to make him feel like he had a full family. When the Malfoy's cut themselves off from him he knew that if nothing else those traits were the most important.

He took a deep breath and plastered a smile onto his face. He was going to be ready for anything. He sat through class idly tapping his foot before he noticed a piece of folded parchment launch itself onto his desk. It was in the shape of a kitten and he knew who it was without looking up. He looked down at the animated note and rolled his eyes.

_You okay?_

Teddy took a deep breath and looked over at the desk where the small kitten had come from. Elle Hathor. She was a beater and captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team so she could come off a bit strong. He supposed she was beautiful, but her appearance changed every few days. He shrugged at that thought. His did too, although he still looked like himself for the most part. He nodded at her then turned back to face the professor.

When class was over Teddy almost tripped over his robes as he rushed down the hall.  _Finally_.  _Class was over. How can professors have so much to go over the first week? I need a nap. A nice long-_

"Hey, Ted!" He sighed then turned around slowly once the hall had cleared a bit.

 

"Oh, hi Elle." He gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and stuck his hands in his pockets breezily.

 

"Did you like my note?" She asked her voice a light twinkle as she bounced easily on the balls of her feet. Today she was tan and kind of thin which was a lot different from her usual thicker or more pale demeanors. Her hair which was tied in a long blonde ponytail yesterday was now in a choppy brown french braid with a feather intwined. Her nose was less pointed. Her lips slightly more pouty. Her eyes were a warm brown with small specks of gold. Teddy decided to focus on her eyes, because even as he looked at the rest of her he noticed she was constantly changing.

 

"Can you not control that?" He asked bluntly, before realizing what he said could be taken rudely. "Uh, sorry..."

 

"Control wha-Oh! You mean the changing thing?" She said laughing.

 

"Yeah. The 'changing thing'." Teddy used his hands to make air quotes as he said it.

 

"Not really, no," she smiled at him. "It's an odd story I guess. I can tell you on the way to the library." He looked at her skeptically and she shoved him playfully. "C'mon. You know you want to." She said, singing the last bit. He gave her a real smile and nodded.

 

"Okay, sure."

 

"So," she started as they made their trek through the castle. "My mum was a squib and she married this muggle guy popped out a few kids. They divorced or something and she met my dad. He was an auror for minor ministry cases. Anyway when my mum was pregnant with me some guy recognized my dad from a case and shot at him with a bunch of curses."

 

"Is he okay?"

 

"Oh yeah, he's fine. He's a badass that works in the record office at the ministry now. Doesn't want to 'put his family in danger again' or anything," she smiled at Teddy while doing air quotes around that part of her sentence. "Anyway, one of the curses hits my mum. It was a beauty curse known as  _Pulcritudo Timios_  that the guy thought was supposed to make her the opposite of what my father wanted. I think the guy was just an idiot though, because the translation literally means like honest beauty, I think.  
The spell didn't affect her at all though, since she was pregnant with me she had this type of magic immunity or whatever. Little fetus me sucked up most of the magic from the blow."

When they got to the library, Teddy opened the door for both of them to walk through and they got a table in the back where they could talk and he decided maybe she wasn't such a bad study partner. She did seem pretty cool.

 

"Then what?" He asked pulling out his notes from Arithmancy. His course load was pretty large this year.

 

"Well I absorbed the bulk of the magic so when I was born the curse took its toll on me. There's not a counter curse or a cure, but there are amulets or necklaces, that can show my true self. I can see it if I look in the mirror hard enough, what I really look like, I mean." Elle pulled out her own notes from Divination and asked to borrow a quill.

 

"So what does the spell do, exactly?" Teddy asked while digging in his bag for one she could borrow.

 

"Well it shows everyone whatever they want to see. Nothing too specific. It shows whatever people think is the most beautiful to them. That's why I change so much, cause everyone has different beauty standards." She conjured a mirror and looked at herself. "This is actually really close to what I really look like. My ears are a bit pointier." She poked at her ears and Teddy tilted his head in thought.

 

"I think you would look really nice with pointed ears. Like a nymph or a fairy." He smiled shyly, but before he even finished speaking her ears had already began reshaping themselves.

Elle, who had been staring in the mirror, noticed the change then looked up at Teddy and smiled huge before wrapping him in a hug only to let go, blushing. "Sorry, I'm a hugger."

 

He shook his head smiling and blushing as well. "No big deal, what was that about?"

 

"This is the first time I've looked like myself without having to wear the necklace my Nana gave me. It's supposed to capture all the magic from the curse, but it captures stray magic too and sometimes it gets too heavy. Not to mention I have to work extra hard to reign in any loose magic. It gets kinda tiresome, you know?" Teddy nodded at her, but he couldn't stop blushing, because the only thing he was thinking was how beautiful she was and how this is what she really looked like and how she was practically perfect for him, down to the light sprinkling of freckles across her face.

 

\----8----

 

Teddy ran up the stairs that led to the tower that held Ravenclaw's common room. He had to be to his Dad's office by 7 and he forgot to tell Scorp! It was after 6:30 now. He stood outside of Ravenclaw's portrait and started knocking before it looked down at him tiredly.

"Unlike the rest of the houses, I do not require a password. You must only answer one of my riddles." The portrait seemed to be that of a young girl in peasant's clothing with a bow tied in her dark blonde hair. Teddy sighed but realized he didn't have time to waste.

 

"Well," he asked. "What is your riddle?"

 

"I am lighter than a feather, but even the strongest of men cannot hold me for longer than a minute. What am I?"

Teddy paced back and forth in front of the picture frame.  _I should know this_. He scolded himself as he continued wearing into the floor.

"It's your breath," said a voice behind him tiredly. He turned around and smiled at the small blonde who seemed to have been standing there for almost as long as he had.

 

"Welcome Home, young one," responded the portrait as she opened and Scorpius stepped in, holding the door for Teddy to follow him.

 

"What's going on?" asked Scorpius after he placed his things by one of the many study tables in his common room and motioning over to a royal blue couch for he and Teddy to sit.

 

"Family dinner at 7. Pops said I could invite you, but I got held up studying in the library."

 

"Yeah, I know you and your friend kept giggling while I was trying to read," said Scorpius with a slight scowl on his face.

 

"Is something wrong, bro?" Asked Teddy shrinking back at Scorp's previous tone.

 

"Nothing major. I'm not used to being around so many people, yet. It makes me irritable. It's very draining when your-"

 

"Brain seems to move quicker than everybody else's?" Teddy asked, finishing his sentence. "It gets better. You're gonna have to learn to slow down some of your words and stuff sometimes, you know don't speak too fast. Try to set a pace in your head. It works better that way."

Scorpius gave him the look of awe he used to when they were younger and he told him how much he loved books and how other kids didn't like him much either. It was a look of gratitude. A look that said  _Thanks for understanding, no one understands_.

"What were you saying about dinner?" Said Scorpius happily changing the subject.

 

"Oh yeah! That's what I'm here for. Family dinner at 7 in Pops office. We do it once a week so we can still have family time and stuff. He said I could invite you." He cast a tempus and cursed himself. "C'mon Scorp, we have less than 5 minutes to get there." He pulled on the smaller boy, forcing him from the couch before rushing over to the door with the pale blonde in tow.

They burst into the room just as the clock began chiming for the new hour and right before the floo lit up in green allowing a nervous looking Draco Malfoy to emerge.

Teddy choked back a sob and released Scorpius' hand in order to throw himself at Draco. He wrapped the older blonde in a hug forcing himself not to cry.

Draco's arms wrapped themselves instinctively around Teddy and he bent his head down to whisper into his other son's ear.

"I'm so sorry, Teddy."

 

Okay, so maybe he did cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Elle, if you hadn't noticed, her name and appearance and stuff is based on a mix of Rick Riordan's potrayal of Aphrodite/Venus (Goddess of love, beauty, sex...) & his character Piper McLean,
> 
> In his series he always shows Aphrodite as being an ever changing goddess based on different beliefs in beauty and I feel like this works best for Elle's character here.
> 
> Her character just came to me as well as her background
> 
> Her name literally means lovely fairy or something which I thought fit her very well. Not to mention her last name is that of the Egyptian Goddess of beauty (the one that most closely resembles the beliefs of Aphrodite)
> 
> \-- luci xoxo


	25. -25-

Draco and Teddy hugged for what never seemed like long enough for Teddy, but still he moved back and wiped his face with a handkerchief he conjured for himself.

Scorpius stood back with a small smile as he watched his family reunite. Sure, he was young when his father and his papa had stopped speaking, but he always knew they would find each other again.

Once Harry stopped coming around Scorpius started reading more fiction stories and fairy tales, trying to find ways for Harry to fall for his father again. He had finally decided to stop looking when he received his Hogwarts letter. He was too old to believe in muggle fairy tales. If something was going to happen it would happen on its own, not because he researched it until he was restless. Then he saw his papa on the platform and he knew that things were working themselves out and he couldn't help but smile again. That is until the pain behind his eyes came back and he had to focus on not thinking about anything for a moment.

He really should have tried harder to find his medicinal potions. Why did Madam Pomfrey have to keep them anyway? He was old enough to take it himself. He had been old enough for a few years now. He rolled his eyes then winced as the pain came back with a flurry of thoughts. The pain momentarily stopped when the door slammed open and he looked from Teddy and his father speaking to see his Papa carrying his weight in hardcovers.

Harry stumbled from his class into his office with an armful of books and reports. He tried to keep his balance, but he had always had the grace of an elephant. He tripped almost as soon as he crossed the threshold. Although no one could catch him three wands were immediately out to stop the books and papers from collapsing as well.

"At least now I know what you guys think is most important," said Harry rolling onto his back and looking up at the three other guys in his office.

 

"Well duh," said Teddy with a grin once Draco had grabbed all the books and sat them on a table.

 

"All the grace in the world, Potter," Draco drawled lovingly and Harry looked up at him with a grin before standing up and brushing himself off.

Scorpius was behind his father placing the reports down as well before moving over to the lounge chair and flopping onto it, next to Teddy. Draco gave his son a once over before stepping closer and placing a hand on his head. Even he could feel Scorpius' magic wavering and his head throbbing.

"Hyperion, have you taken your potions?" Scorpius flinched at the use of his middle name, but shook his head honestly.

 

"No, but I did go to Madam Pomfrey for them earlier. She said a professor came and picked up my dosage for today. Then I went to my common room to floo you, but Teddy was waiting to bring me to Papa's room."

 

"A professor has your-"

 

"Oh yeah! That'd be me," said Harry hurrying towards the glass cabinet behind his desk and pulling out a vial labeled 'Cerebrum Perlahan Serum'. "I remembered Scorp was supposed to take this with dinner and since I had invited you all here to eat I thought it would be easier..."

 

"Harry you just can't take medicine from the infirmary!"

 

"I didn't just take it! I asked first." Harry stuck his bottom lip out in a mock pout before continuing. "I explained to Pomfrey and she said it was fine. Although I am sorry, Scor. I didn't know it had gotten so bad." While he spoke he had bent over slightly so he was talking to Scorpius at eye level.

 

"It's fine, Papa. It's mostly because of all the p-people and the new environment. T-teddy was telling me that he could fix it by t-talking at a set pace." Harry nodded. Teddy had been off his potions for almost 2 years now, but then again he had only started taking ithem when he came to Hogwarts. He looked down at the small blonde with a sort of concerned curiosity causing the boy to stand angrily. Clearly he was developing more and more of Draco's temper. "D-don't look at me l-like that. The f-faster my brain goes the m-more I st-stutter. That's why I n-need my p-p-potions!"

Harry stepped back, surprised that Scorpius was yelling at him. Or anyone else for that matter. He looked over at Draco who looked sad to have to see his son go through this, but also a bit anxious as though Harry was going to change his mind about taking them back. Not a chance. He reached over and squeezed Draco's hand before handing Scorpius the potion and transfiguring his desk and couches into a dinner table with four unusually comfy chairs.

"Sorry, Scorp. I didn't know," he said again letting go of Draco's hand as he called in a few house elves from the kitchens to bring them dinner.

 

"No, I'm sorry, Papa. I know I can get kind of irritable. It just- I get so...frustrated! It's like I know what I want to say, but my brain is moving too fast for my mouth to catch up and then when it does catch up it has to work twice as hard to remember how to form the words." He growled to himself before putting his head in his hands.

 

"It's alright Scorpius. I promise. I should've left it with Pomfrey."

 

"Yes," cut in Draco bitterly. "You should have."

 

"Draco-"

 

"Can we try this another night? I'm not very hungry." Draco stood and headed towards the fireplace, but before he could both Teddy and Harry had stood to stop him.

 

"Dad, don't leave," said Teddy and Scorpius at the same time. Draco stopped in shock and turned, looking at both boys. One who was a spitting image of him and another who- even without changing his appearance- seemed to wedge himself between both he and Harry. He carefully walked over and sat down in his vacant seat before clearing his throat.

 

"I suppose I  _could_ eat a  _little_  something..."

 

Teddy laughed, but tears dripped from his face anyway. The smile that took over his face felt different. He took deep breaths and rubbed his cheeks, but he still couldn't break the lopsided grin.  _So this is what it's like to be genuinely happy, again,_ he mused to himself as an elf came back with plates and goblets for everyone.


	26. -26-

Draco sat in Harry's office alone this time. The ravenette was in class, but Draco was starting on book 3. He stayed on campus with Harry most nights anyway.

There was a knock on the door, but before he could get up to answer it McGonagall entered with a kind yet firm smile.

"Mr. Malfoy, I was told I could find you here. I do not have much time to explain, but I would like for you to follow me." When he didn't move her smile fell and she turned away swiftly. "Now, please."

 

He quickly stood and followed her through Harry's full classroom to the sound of gasping students before following her even quicker pace down the hallways and towards the dungeons.

 

"I'm sorry, Professor, but-"

 

"Minerva."

 

"Sure, Minerva. I'm slightly confused." She turned abruptly once more as they reached the door of what he knew to be the potions classroom.

 

"You passed your NEWTs with qualifications to become a teacher, yet you turned down the position. I am no longer asking. Our current professor is being transported to St. Mungos and therefore needs a fit replacement. You are more than capable of teaching this class. While Professor Ward is out you  _will_  be taking her place. Call it your 'trial period'. Regardless of whatever you call it, your first class begins in an hour. You can follow her lesson plans or you can create new ones sometime this week. Seeing as though you are always on campus anyway, now you have something to do with your idle time. This also means you are currently Slytherin's stand-in Head of House."

Draco was surprised to say the least. He had originally turned down the job because he had just been married. His memories of Potter and their rivalry were too raw. He closed his mouth which he assumed had opened in shock and nodded at her.

"Thank you, Prof- Minerva," he corrected as she looked at him with a smile in her eye.

 

"Of course. Don't forget to read over your lesson plans, Professor. The year has just begun!" She continued walking back up towards her office and Draco noted that her brisk pace may have just been the way she moved through the castle.

He entered the classroom as if he were on auto pilot before making his way into the back room where the potion master's office was kept. He looked around at the cool violets and greens he assumed Professor Ward had used and with a quick flick of his wand the room was washed in bright whites and cool greys with hints of green. His new chair for example was a plush leather desk chair in a deep emerald green with silver accents. He smiled as he sat in it and picked up the folder labeled lesson plans that was tucked into the first drawer he opened on the desk he sat behind.

Giddily he flipped through it until he was met with today's date.

 

~~~

 **Objectives/Fourth Years**  
\- TLW read over the description of a sleeping draught  
\- TLW discover how to properly brew a sleeping draught  
\- TLW remember how to properly brew an antidote  
\- TLW keep notes of responses and common problems  
\- TLW properly label and display correct potions  
\- TLW properly destroy and dispose of incorrect brews  
[  _TLW - The Learner Will_  ]

~~~

Draco scoffed at the paper. This seemed easy enough. He could make a sleeping draught no problem. He just had to show a group of fourth years how to do it. It shouldn't be too hard. He had taught Scorp most of what he knew. Anything else, the boy had read about himself. He nodded to himself and stood up from his temporary desk then walked back into his new classroom. He grabbed the ingredients he knew from memory and laid them on the teacher's tray up front before beginning on an example cauldron of potion. He checked the time and nodded to himself. He mused that the brew should be finishing up just as the fourths were set to arrive.

He had decided on starting the class with the hardest to brew of the draughts he made regularly, which was the Dead Man's brew. Without an antidote it could put the drinker to sleep for years with no dreams or recollections of drinking the potions. Most people were brought out of it after months of studying so no one knew how long it's affects could really take hold. What he knew for sure, from experience was that when taken at the same time as the antidote the Dead Man's brew makes a risky alternative to a dreamless sleep potion.

As the brew finally finished simmering, the door to the potions room slammed open and students poured in. He stood with his back to the heat of the now dying flames as he leaned against the desk, watching the class settle in. He conjured the roll sheet from his office and looked around before he started calling names. When he was finished he addressed the class as a whole.

"Hello, I am Professor Malfoy. Apparently the last class was a disaster therefore your previous professor has been sent to St. Mungos." There was a jovial silence and he chuckled. "Until her return, you'll be having me."

 

"Aren't you that first year's dad? The Ravenclaw that talks a lot?" Asked a boy with an unfortunate nose without raising his hand.

 

"His name's Scorpius," called a girl with too tight pin curls. "He got moved into our History of Magic class!"

 

"Oh," said Draco nodding to himself. "I wasn't aware he was already so far ahead. Is he doing well in class, at least?"

 

"He must be, sir. He was the only one that new the material on the pop quiz today."

The class broke into loud agreeing murmurs of surprise and disbelief.

"Well what are you all learning in History of Magic right now?"

 

"Nothing yet, sir," squeaked a girl with mousey features and huge eyes.

 

"Yeah, its just a review of what we should already know. We're starting on the Second War next week," spoke a bespectacled boy covered in freckles.

Draco nodded then walked behind the desk.

"Okay, class enough small talk. You won't be getting new seats today, but I do plan on making a seating chart before the end of the week. I would like to see how each of you work alone first. Today we are starting on Sleeping Draughts. Can anyone tell me what a sleeping draught is?" A few students raised their hands and he decided maybe the teaching thing wouldn't be so bad.

Once everyone had begun their potions and he had made his rounds he sat behind his desk to start writing his first report as a teacher. Other than one cauldron exploding- the idiot put in erumpent horn dust without adding a base first- class continued without a hitch, but just before he could dismiss his students, Harry burst into the classroom.

"Draco!" he said somewhat wildly as he panted with his hands on his knees. Without looking up Draco responded on instinct.

 

"Yes, love?" When Harry didn't immediately respond Draco slowly looked up from writing to see a class full of wide eyed students staring at him then their DADA teacher who was still trying to catch his breath. "Well, love, what is it?"

 

"Scorps-" Harry spoke between gulps of air. "in the -hospital wing." Without another word Draco stood and rushed to the door, pulling Harry behind him.

 

"Clean your cauldrons and leave. Class is dismissed," he said briskly. Then spoke to Harry while they rushed through the halls through packs of other students who were out of class. "What the hell happened, Potter?"

 

"Some Slytherins thought it would be funny to prank the unsuspecting Malfoy Ravenclaw, but one of their wands were broken so the spell didn't come out as intended."

They burst into the infirmary and Draco froze as he stared at his son who looked as thought all he wanted to do was puke. His eyes looked tired and his body seemed weak, not to mention he was shivering even though he was soaked in sweat.

"As temporary Slytherin Head of House, I think I need to have a word with my students." Draco kissed Scorpius' forehead then his knuckles before brushing some of his wet hair back from his face and abruptly turning after nodding to Madam Pomfrey. He was more than a teacher, he was now a father scorned by his own house. He was going to show them what a prank was really all about. Before he could leave, Harry grabbed his arm in the corridor right outside.

 

"Don't do anything crazy. You just got here. C'mon lets just wait until he wakes up. Besides, the boys who did it are literally tied up in McGonagall's office."

 

"You didn't," said Draco with wide eyes.

 

"He's my son too, remember?" Harry kissed Draco on the corner of the lips then pulled him back into the infirmary before forcing him into a chair and standing behind him to rub his tense shoulders.

 

"Thank you," said Draco quietly with his eyes closed and his face downcast as he held onto Scorp's hand lovingly. "I love you," he said laying his head back onto Harry as he wrapped his arms around the blonde.

 

"I love you too," said Harry kissing him on the temple.


	27. -27-

Teddy could not stop fidgeting.

"Lupin, chill," said Tess as they were sitting in the back of Binns's History of Magic room.

 

"I'm trying," he whispered angrily.

 

"Mr. Lupin, would you like to share something with the class?" asked Professor Binns lowering his wand and causing the chalk that was steadily making notes on the board to cease.

 

"No," said Teddy irritably. "I would  _like_  to go to the infirmary."

 

"What's wrong, Ted," started a Gryffindor on the other side of the room. "Worried about your little boy toy. I wonder if he'll ever wake up..?" The boy said as though he were pretending to ponder it.

 

"Lewis would you kindly shut your cakehole!" snapped Tess coming to her best friend's defense. "I'm pretty sure no one was talking to you, prat."

 

"I'm sorry, Professor! Family emergency!" Teddy quickly stood and gathered his stuff before running from the room and jetting towards the hospital wing. When he arrived he saw both Harry and Draco seated side by side asleep on what he figured to be a small transfigured couch. He pulled up a separate stool and sat gingerly on the other side of Scorpius' bed.

He picked up his brother's hand and watched it fall back limply before it balled into a loose fist for almost a second. His eyes widened and he smiled.

"Scorp, if you're okay please open your eyes. We're all a together now, you can't go and die on us, we've barely had any family time." After a few moments Scorpius attempted to open his eyes. It was slow at first as if they were stuck together. Once they were opened he closed them back tightly again and blinked a few times before breaking into a fit of coughs.

 

"I'm not dying on anyone. Murder is more along the lines of what I was thinking," said Scorp attempting to sit up and having to hold his chest while he did so. "I thought Slytherins and Gryffindors hated each other?"

 

"Well, Dad and Pops don't hate each other."

 

"Anymore."

 

"I don't think they ever  _hated_ each other per say. I think they just misunderstood each other and did what they thought was appropriate because of that."

 

"Sounds a lot like hate."

 

"Why do you ask, Scorp?"

 

"The tools who attacked me, it was a group of Slytherins and Gryffindors. They were saying they were getting back at us for the war for what Dad did to their family. I just didn't understand what they meant. What did Dad do that was so bad that it can bring together two opposing forces..."

 

"Oh..." said Teddy quietly looking over at Draco. They had learned about the war last year. About the two sides of the war and all the sacrifices that were made by everyone, not least of all his real parents or his godfather. He was just as old as his adoptive Father was when he found a way to start fixing the vanishing cabinet that let death eaters into Hogwarts during the final battles. He supposed he could see why it had seemed like a good idea at the time. If his family were in danger he knew he would probably do something just as bad if not worse to get them back or protect them.

He wasn't sure if Scorp was old enough to get that yet.

"You'll find out sooner or later. They teach it during fourth year History of Magic. So maybe in a few years you'll-"

 

"I am in fourth year History of Magic. We're going over the war next week. So my father really is involved, then?"

 

"Uh- look Scorp. I probably shouldn't be the one to tell you about any of this. I-I'm glad you're okay, but I should probably get back to class. I just came to check on you." Teddy turned and sped out of the infirmary ward almost as fast as he had arrived. The quick burst of magic that followed him sent Pomfrey's vital checking spells into a tizzy causing her to burst from her office, awaking both Harry and Draco.

 

"Scorp!"

 

"Hyperion!"

Harry looked over at Draco who looked visibly brighter after having a nap and proof that his son was really okay. He looked back at Scorpius and gave him a grin.

"You almost gave your dad a heart attack," said Harry ruffling Scorpius' hair and kissing his forehead to which he scrunched his nose in response.

 

"Oh, yeah? Which one?" Responded the blonde easily, smiling back up at both parents.

 

"Haha," spoke Harry sarcastically. "I forgot you had that Malfoy wit."

 

"He has the looks, might as well have the brains as well, right Scorp?" added in Draco with his usual graceful smirk.

Harry nudged him, but before he could speak again Scorpius changed the topic.

"Teddy was here a few minutes ago. He was the reason the vital spells went on the fritz," he said looking at his fathers then Madam Pomfrey. She nodded and took a few notes.

 

"That would explain why you check out fine. Though you do have a broken rib or two- I'll be right back with a setting potion and some bandages." She scurried off and Scorp looked at his fathers again.

 

"Why'd Teddy leave?" asked Harry.

 

"And why the bloody hell did he leave such a strong magical aura around?" Draco added later.

 

"I asked him about what you guys did during the war," He spoke while looking down at his hands which were gripping tightly to his blankets, because he didn't want to see the expressions on his fathers' faces. "He said I would learn in fourth year History of Magic, but I'm already in fourth year History of Magic and I told him so. He said he shouldn't get involved and he ran out."

 

"Look the war was- Scorpius, you have to understand that things were different...a lot more dark magic was at play."

 

"No, Potter, he should know. Personally I think its best if you learn the facts first."

 

"Dray-" Harry tried to interrupt his love to no avail.

 

"We won't be talking about this until after your class discussion. Do I make myself clear, Hyperion?"

 

"Yes, father." Scorpius kept his head down as Pomfrey came back in with the required substances. Draco stood and left in a huff, leaving Harry to be shooed out on his own. He jogged to catch up with Draco who was making his way to what were going to be his teacher's quarters with great haste.

 

"Draco, that boy loves you with all he's got. Don't do this to yourself." He grabbed Draco's wrist and was surprised by how much magic was leaking in his fit of frustration. Draco snatched his arm away, but at least had enough decency to look ashamed as he attempted to rein his magic back in.

 

"I haven't told him anything about the war, Harry! Nothing. He didn't even know who you were when he first met you, did that not surprise you?" Draco said trying to direct his anger at Harry, but the ravenette was used to his tactics and continued his own agenda.

 

"I mean, seriously. Teddy learned that stuff last year and he was still thrilled to see you again. I was  _there_  and I can't force myself to stop loving you, even if I wanted to. Scorpius loves you. That's a fact. Nothing will change that. He may have a lot of questions concerning what went down, but he isn't going to disown his own father."

Draco shrugged.

"I did."

 

"Dray, that's different and you know it. Don't try to compare yourself to Lucius. You are a better man than he could ever be. You're nothing like him."

 

"That's funny considering we have the same  _name._ " Draco turned away and stormed the rest of the way to his quarters. He had 2 more classes today. How he was going to get through them, he had no idea.


	28. -28-

"Can anyone tell me how the war started?"

 

"There was a prophecy," said one of the older Ravenclaws in Scorpius' class.

 

"Correct. Good job, Miss Abigail. Does anyone know what the prophecy said?" Binns looked across the room almost unblinkingly. When no one answered he nodded and waved his wand to force the chalk to start writing the prophecy as he spoke. "It told of a young boy born before the end of the summer that would bring forth the end of one of the darkest wizards of our time, Lord Voldemort."

A chill seemed to roll through the room and all the students looked at each other with wide eyes and scared looks. As Binns told the class about the war and the twists & turns that led to Voldemort's inevitable defeat, they gave him their undivided attention. When he was finally done everyone looked at him shockingly.

"Next class we'll be getting into the specifics and answering any questions not covered within the main history." He dismissed them without another thought. Scorpius was the first out of the classroom.

 

"I can't believe they have that death eater teaching potions..." A guy spoke from behind him.

 

"Yeah, what if he tries to poison us or something?"

 

"I think he's a fine professor, it's clear he wants to do a good job. Not to mention that stuff happened before we were even born," spoke a strong voice in that group.

 

"Don't forget, Binns said that only the ones who were proven innocent got to go free."

 

"Oh yeah," spoke the first voice again. "I guess you're right..."

Scorpius slowed down enough for their group to walk past him without noticing him. When they turned a corner heading in the direction of the great hall he sped towards his father's classroom. He stood in front of the door in tears.

Harry opened the door and looked down at Scorpius confused, pulling him into a hug almost immediately.

"What's wrong Scorp?"

 

Scorpius wanted to tell his Papa what he had learned. He wanted to apologize for what his father did. He wanted to apologize for letting his father keep him away when he knew Harry loved him, but he couldn't speak. He opened his mouth, but couldn't seem to get the words out so he got angry because it was too early for a second dosage of his potions which made him frustrated because he knew he shouldn't have worked himself up like this. He burrowed deeper into Harry's arms and the confused man was more than happy to grip his son tighter if that's the confirmation he needed.

Scorpius could feel himself starting to hyperventilate and Harry quickly held him by his shoulders, arms length away from himself.

"You can tell me what's wrong later, but right now I really meed you to calm down, Scorp. Okay?"

Scorpius nodded and Harry slowly rubbed his arms comfortingly up and down.

"Take a deep breath, Scor," Harry insisted. The boy nodded and took in a huge gulp of air through shivering lips. Harry pulled him the rest of the way in the classroom then led him to his office before moving over to his cabinet and trying to find a calming draught. When he found one he turned to give it to Scorpius who was shaking his head no.

 

"I-I'm fine, P-Papa." Harry nodded at him and placed the potion back on the shelf while Scorpius took another deep breath before he continued speaking. "I'm not allowed to take calming draughts anyway, they make me feel groggy."

 

"Oh, okay. So what's going on Scorp?"

 

"Nothing, I just wanted to see you Papa..." Scorpius looked away with his head down.

 

"As nice as that sounds, its seemed like you practically ran here, then had a near panic attack once you did get here. So tell me what happ-" Harry looked up surprised before looking back at the boy sitting on the lounge sadly in front of him. "You had History of Magic today, didn't you?"

 

"How can you love him? My father... After the stuff he did..." Scorpius looked into Harry's eyes. "How can you love me when I look just like him?"

 

"Scorpius-"

 

"Nevermind. I shouldn't have asked. Uh- Thank you...? I just go." He stood to leave but Harry stopped him.

 

" _You_  are going to sit down and wait for your father to get here. Facts first then we discuss it, remember?" Harry said pulling Scorpius in for a hug, kissing the top of his head before ruffling his hair.

 

"I remember."

 

"Good. Do you want Teddy here too? I mean, family dinner is tomorrow night, but I guess we can do both." Harry smiled at him and Scorpius realized that it didn't matter what had happened in the past. Nothing bad had happened since he learned the truth about the war. If anything he understood more about his fathers and as far as he was concerned that was a  _good_  thing.

 

"Yeah," Scorpius smiled back at Harry. "Thanks Papa, that'd be great. I kind of missed lunch to come here."

 

"I'm glad you did," Harry said chuckling before he ruffled the little blonde's hair again then moved towards the door. "C'mon, let's go round up the rest of the clan, huh?"

 

"Can we get Teddy first?" Scorpius looked up at Harry and he was reminded of a younger Scorpius asking for help finding his father and he couldn't help but send the boy a small smile.

 

"Of course." Harry took out his wand and locked up his classroom. "Though I think Teddy is usually practicing at this time, but we  _can_  go watch for a bit before pulling him out of the zone."

Scorpius chuckled but ran ahead of his Papa towards the quidditch field where Teddy was playing a Seeker's game all by himself. They watched as he flew after the snitch. Harry was following the ball with his eyes whereas Scorpius kept losing sight of it and had to ask Harry to point it out for him. Once Scorpius would find out where Harry said it was, it wasn't long before he lost it again. When they had seen Teddy reach for and miss the snitch more than three times Harry accioed the ball to him and watched Teddy follow it before rushing towards the ground and landing.

"Hey Scorp! Hey Pops! What's up?" He blanched for a minute. "Is this about the fish tank in the-"

 

"Nothing's up. Wait, the fish tank in the where-now?" Harry said looking pointedly at Teddy with his hands on his hips.

 

"Nothing, Pops. It's just a joke. So..." He started when no one said anything in response.

 

"Scorp had his war lesson today, so we're going to discuss it over family dinner."

 

"But family dinner is tomorrow. Isn't it?" Teddy asked scratching the back of his head confused. Harry pushed his son's sweat soaked hair back from his head.

 

"You miss a lot when you're out putting fish tanks where they shouldn't be, huh," he said causing Teddy and his hair, comically enough, to blush in response. Scorpius bit back a laugh at the hue.

 

"Nice hair, Bubblegum," Scorpius snorted out.

 

"If you really like it, I can make yours the same color," Teddy said with an evil smirk.

 

"How is little Fred a bad influence on  _you_?" Harry asked surprised. "You're older than him!"

Teddy smiled at his dad, but he couldn't stop chuckling as they walked back up to the castle.


	29. -29-

When they entered the castle Harry immediately made his way towards the dungeons where the potions classroom was held. He knocked twice before he entered with both boys at his tail. He spoke before actually surveying the room.

"Scorp had his lesson today so we decided on family dinner tonight. Is that okay?" Harry looked up in time to see a few of his 4th and 5th year students sitting in desks bewildered at Teddy's now messy black hair and green eyes, reminiscent of Harry's own.

He loved being his own person, but when he was around Harry is was almost second nature to him and he didn't mind. He liked looking like his father figure. It saved both him and Harry from unneeded heartache. He looked around and goofily smiled shyly at his 5th year classmates.

Scorpius on the other hand looked down and wished beyond hope that the floor would swallow him up now. Awkward family moments were not the type of moments to be held in front of the entire class. The students in the room looked between the four of them, whispering to each other, but his father didn't seem phased as he continued lazily flipping through a potions book on his desk.

"Sorry, love. I told you that Wednesdays are no good. My schedule marked itself for tutoring day or something."

 

"Yeah, I forgot. Professor Ward did keep all her study sessions on Wednesday." Teddy sat in an empty seat in the back of the room. "Wasn't even thinking. Sorry, Dad!"

The class was quiet and somewhat expectant, waiting for Harry to answer, but he never did. In front of the room Draco closed the book with a feeling of finality on his desk.

"It's fine, Ted. There's nothing for it now. You all can wait and we can call for a meal after this, alright?" At that Draco looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow as if daring him to question his authority in his own classroom.

 

"No argument here," said Harry conjuring forth a chair from the edges of the room for him and Scorpius to sit on. Draco grinned at him and walked through the room towards him purposefully. He kissed the dark haired man on the forehead and smiled at him affectionately.

 

"That would definitely be a first."

The blonde moved back to the front of the room and carried on with his mixed tutoring and re-teaching session. It was as if these students didn't recall ever learning the information. Harry remembered from back when he was in school and he figured that some of them probably  _hadn't_. He sat back in his seat watching as all the students wrote notes and took comments then broke of into groups to practice the potions.

"Potter!"

 

"Malfoy," said Harry in a teasingly calm voice.

 

"Stop tapping your foot. Maybe  _you_  don't like potions, but other people are trying to learn it."

Harry blushed and gave Draco a crooked grin, making a show of lifting his foot and crossing it over the other one that caused the students to break into giggles. One girl raised her hand wearily.

"Professor Potter, are you really with Professor Malfoy?" she asked more confidently than her raised hand would have suggested. Harry only smiled wider, but Scorpius answered for him.

 

"Yeah, he is. Why?"

 

"Why!? You were in Binns class today, you heard what your dad did."

"Yeah," stepped in Teddy. "But he's also seen firsthand how  _our_ dad has made up for that and how our Papa forgave him. So I think it balances out, Gabby, thanks." Teddy grabbed Scorpius' shoulder and led him from the room. "We'll just go back to your office and wait, Pops."

Harry nodded absentmindedly while looking down at his shaking hands. A light burst overhead causing the kids to yelp and some to even murmur appreciation so Draco hurried over to him.

"Go ahead, we'll be right behind you." Draco turned to Harry and placed his hands over the more tan ones. "You have to calm down, baby. You're destroying my classroom."

 

"Dray, you have tutoring. This is my fault, I'll just follow the boys and wait."

 

"Tutoring is done for the day," he said turning towards his fairly new students. "You all can thank Gabriella if you don't understand the assignment next class. That goes for the fourth and fifth years. Dismissed." The class bustled out angrily to a chorus of 'Thanks Gabby!' and 'Nice going jabber-mouth!'.

Harry stood once the class left, closing the door behind them and wrapped his arms around Draco's waist tilting his head back and lifting himself up for a kiss that Malfoy was more than ready to oblige him with.

"You didn't have to do that," Harry said pecking Draco's lips once more.

 

"Yeah, I think I did." Draco sighed and pulled Harry in for a hug, laying his forehead on top of the shorter man's head. "You were right, I should have told Scorpius before now. He went into that class completely blind today..."

 

"It'll be okay. That's what family dinner is for. We're going to talk about it, okay? Everything will be fine, Dray. I promise."

 

"How do you know that, Harry?"

 

"Is this what you've been doing for the last six years without me? Pouting? Wallowing in self pity?" Harry pushed Draco off of him and held him at arms length. "It's a pity when the Prince of Slytherin starts whining like a bloody Hufflepuff!"

 

"I'm not whining," said Draco forcing himself to stand up tall and push his partners hands off of his shoulders before crossing his arms then narrowing his eyes at Harry, who shrugged.

 

"Seems like you're whining to me. All I have seen of you since you've been back is that something beat you into submission."

 

"So are we going to skip the part where I say it should have been you?"

 

"Yes we are, because I'm serious. This scared man in front of me is not the man I fell in love with. What happened to you believing in Scorpius? Hell, what happened to you believing in me? I told you Scorpius loves you! He's looking for you to give him an explanation, because the you that is portrayed in those History of Magic books is not the  _you_  he knows. It's not even the you that I know. Or  _ever_  knew, for that matter." Harry stared at Draco with a smirk after Draco nodded in agreement.

 

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

 

"Since you're into this whole submission thing now, does that mean I can top?"

 

"Oh, in your dreams Potter."

 

"Absolutely!" Draco pulled Harry closer again and kissed him roughly. "That's the Draco I love," murmured Harry into the kiss.

 

"I think I remember promising I'd take my time with you..." Draco said kissing down Harry's neck.

There was a knock on the door, but it opened before they had time to separate. Teddy and Scorpius both popped there heads in for mere seconds before closing the door and making retching noises in the corridor.

"Remember us!?" Yelled Teddy through the door.

 

"Yeah, now I'm double traumatized! I'm going to need a new doctor!" yelled Scorpius after.

Harry chuckled as he pulled Draco in for one more kiss and then pulled him towards the door after adjusting himself in his pants, glad that his teaching robes covered most of the problem.

"It seems our boys got tired of waiting."

 

"It seems  _I_  am tired of our  _boys_ ," Draco said crossing his arms as best he could with Harry pulling on him and soon they were all walking towards Harry's office for dinner.


	30. -30-

The family dinner was deemed a success, for the most part, but that didn't stop Teddy from poking fun at his fathers for the rest of the week about how scared Draco was before the 'big talk'.

Scorpius understood why his father made the decisions he did mostly, but he doesn't think he would have done the same in his father's position. He thought that maybe that's why he wasn't. Things happen for a reason. Sometimes they help you to learn lessons, other times they can help you grow. In the end it wasn't his choice to make and he thinks his father turned out okay, nonetheless.

The problem now was the fact that the school year was practically over and his fathers couldn't agree on what to do for break. There were debates over staying to complete the publishing process from his father while his dad insisted they stay on a wizard reservation near actual dragons. Scorpius' decision was made without giving it another thought.

3 days since school had let out and they were finally preparing to leave. The suitcases had been packed and shrank and enlarged and unpacked and repacked enough times to give them all a headache. They had changed clothes almost 5 times a piece. Draco didn't want them to look too matching, because it made him feel uncomfortable.

The second day after school let out was full of Teddy begging for the boys to be able to bring friends along. By this morning there was an owl sent to a Miss Elle Hathor, inviting her to join the Dragon hunt. Scorpius floo-ed to the Granger-Weasley home and invited both Rose and Hugo. Rose smiled, but told him she would be studying over break. Harry made a joke about how she was so much like her mother. Then Hugo laughed and agreed to go, but was blushing profusely.

Teddy paced around the room with his hair seemingly a permanent shade of lavender, waiting for a response from Elle.

"When are we leaving," whined Scorpius as he flopped onto the couch beside Harry.

 

"Whenever Teddy's girlfriend shows up, Scor," said Harry jokingly as he ruffled Scorpius' hair.

 

"She's not my girlfriend!" yelped Teddy, but his hair blushed pink then lavender again as his nerves took back over. "Do you think she'll be able to come with us or do you think her parents'll think it's dangerous? I don't think they'd mind, but I've never met her parents. Maybe they're completely against the idea and now they won't let me see her and-"

 

"Breathe, Ted," says Draco coming into the room and kissing Harry on the cheek before sitting on the arm of the couch next to him. "You forgot to do that somewhere around your first sentence."

Everyone but Teddy laughed. When they looked up at him they noticed he was blushing again but with profusely lavender hair as he walked towards the open window where a small snowy white owl sat.

Harry looked at it and gasped causing Draco to look at him with worry.

"Are you alright, love?"

 

"Uh- y-yeah. Just a soft spot, is all." He turned back to Draco and gave a sad and tired smile. The blonde looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a tilted head before glancing back at the owl and turning back with a questioning gaze to Harry.

 

"Didn't you use to have an owl like that back when we were in school, Potter?" Draco asked and Harry just swallowed hard then nodded.

 

"Yeah," he said as if the word was stuck in his throat.

 

"Whatever happened to it?" Harry shrugged sadly at Draco's question.

 

"War." Harry swallowed hard again and took a few seconds to blink back tears. When he looked up again Scorpius looked scared, but Teddy was still focused on the letter. Draco had moved his hand to his mouth.

 

"Harry- I didn't- I'm so- I didn't know..."

 

"You should go ahead and open it, pup," Harry tried to speak in his normal voice, ignoring Draco. Surprising no one, Draco wasn't standing for being ignored.

 

"Yeah, you go on ahead and open it. I have to talk to your Papa for a moment." Draco stood, pulling Harry along behind him towards their room in Grimmauld Place. When they were finally there he closed the door behind them.

 

"Draco, we don't need to have this talk. Not before we go on vacation. The boys have friends coming-"

 

"Harry, we are going to Weasley's Dragon Reserve and we're taking a Weasley."

 

"It's more of a vacation than you wanted," Harry said using his sadness to fuel his anger. This is what he was good at. Arguing with Draco. What he'd always been good at.

 

"I didn't pull you in here to fight. Why haven't you told me everything?"

 

"It was a damn bird, Draco," Harry snapped angrily. Draco quickly cast a silencing charm around the room.

 

"That clearly meant a lot to you," the blonde talked quietly trying to keep his voice calm.

 

"It wasn't important. I'm just tired or whatever. The boys are waiting."

 

"Your owl's name was Hogpit or something right?"

 

"Leave it."

 

"Hea- something..."

 

"Just leave it, Draco."

 

"Head-widget? No... Hedwig!"

 

"You just never know how to leave well enough alone, do you, Malfoy!" Harry was loud and Draco had to force a few deep breaths to keep himself from snapping and cracking his fist into Potter's nose. That isn't how adults solved their problems and it is most certainly not how lovers handle their spats either.

 

"Harry, I just want to help you, but I can't help you if I don't know what bothers you."

 

"Dray, I'm not going to sit around and recall all the deaths I've had to go through, okay? It would be a waste of time. That won't bring them back."

 

"Neither will keeping it all to yourself. Harry, I love you and I want to be there for you, but I can't do that if you wont let me. Is this what you've been up to then?" Draco asked placing his hands on Harry's waist and tilting his head to the side a bit. "I mean, if you say I've been pouting. Have you been angrily stomping about?"

 

"Oh, shut up," Harry said trying to shove him away, but there were clearly tears in his eyes. Draco kissed the first one that fell down his cheek once he blinked then lifted his hand and swiped a thumb over the next. When more continued to fall he pulled Harry into a hug and kissed his neck softly.

 

"You know I'm always going to be here for you, love."

 

"Do I?" Harry hiccuped. "Do I really know that? Last time I thought that you shoved me out for 6 years, Dray."

 

"I found this on your desk the other afternoon before I went to tutoring," said Draco pulling his left hand from Harry's waist and holding it out so that they could both see the dark ring that sat in beautiful contrast with his pale finger.

 

"Draco this isn't the time for jokes. We have to get ready to go," Harry said trying to pull away.

 

"I'm not joking, Harry. You're incredibly strong and powerful, but it's about time you stopped trying to be strong by yourself. That's why I'm here. For those moments when you don't have to be- when you don't want to be. Can I be that for you Harry?" Draco bent his head forward even more until he forced Harry to look up into his eyes that were full of love and completely sincere.

 

"Malfoy," started Harry letting a smile ease onto his face as the tears stopped falling down his face. "Are you trying to propose to me?"

 

"Oh, bloody hell, no." He stated completely honestly with his old Malfoy sneer in place and Harry sucked in a surprised breath. After a minute of seeing Harry's almost visible heartbreak he kissed the raven haired man before catching his eyes and smiling again. "I'm just hoping it isn't too late to accept yours."

Harry punched him in the arm before crushing their lips together. He tasted like his own salty tears, but he could also taste the coffee and omelette on Draco's tongue from breakfast. He could feel their hearts hammering as their chests were placed flushed together. They broke apart grinning like school children before Draco spoke again.

"You know I bruise easy, you great oaf," said Draco as he rubbed the spot on his shoulder, but even he couldn't keep the smile from off of his face.

 

"You're such a ponce! Do you know that?" Harry spoke with a grin he was sure he hadn't had since the first time they had all gotten ice cream together or the first Christmas they spent together. The door to their room was almost blown open by the sheer force of a small, bright blue haired boy with a huge grin and extremely red cheeks.

 

"Her parents said yes! She's flooing over as soon as she finishes packing!" Teddy couldn't stop grinning and it made both of his fathers laugh as they followed him back out of the room and towards the fireplace to open the floo network. Almost immediately they were knocked off of their feet by a bundle of red hair and soot.

Harry sat up and looked over at a now soot-covered Draco who's eyes looked to be as big as snowballs with Hugo laying on his chest as they laid nose to nose.

"Harry," he spoke slowly as he stared up into Hugo's eyes. "Is there a Weasley on me?"

 

"A Granger-Weasley actually, Mr. D," said Hugo with a smile as he pushed himself off of Draco and clambered over to give Harry a hug. He was pretty tall for a 9 year old and he suspected he got that from his father, whereas his eyes were huge, and all-knowing like his mum's.

Moments later a young girl popped through as well, but she spelled her clothes clean before stepping out of the fireplace and talking almost a mile a minute.

"Professor Potter. Professor Malfoy." She nodded at each of them in turn. "Thanks for letting me come with you guys. My parents are going to my grans house during break. One of my distant relatives are getting married or something. It's on my father's side of the family. They're part fairy or something. I hate going to those events anyway. They always put stuff in the drinks or whatever, you know, so I can never drink any of it. Then the cream makes me extra tired anyway. My dad says it's a thing with Faire folk, but I don't know, so I try no to ask-"

 

"Speaking of asking," cut in Draco. "We didn't." He turned away from her and looked around the house doing a quick survey. "Is everyone ready to go?"

 

Everyone in the room mumbled or chuckled their agreement and he nodded before picking up the figurine they were using as a portkey. He spoke the passwords and within moments they were swirling and whisked away towards Romania, where one of the eldest Weasley's had made his own permanent Dragon reserve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the epilogue is next   
> it's just the wedding and the honeymoon though, so if you dont wanna read that you can just consider this the end
> 
> i tried to tie up some loose ends and start some baby ships  
> (cough-cough Scorp & Hugo)
> 
> \-- luci xoxo


	31. -Epilogue-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> { warning: sex after the wedding }  
> i don't really think my sex scenes are all that great...so i don't know how to warn you :)

**_{warning again_** ⚠️ ** _sex after the wedding}_**  
  


"Calm down, mate!"

 

"I can't calm down, Ron! I knew he was going to do something like this."

 

"Like what...?"

 

"Like force me into the most expensive robes he could find. I told him we could have a simple gathering. Our closest friends and family. What does he do? Invite the entirety of his bloody floo contacts!"

 

"I wouldn't stress it too much, Harry," said Hermione coming in and closing the door behind her. "It's a bonding ceremony, the only people who will be able to watch are people who are already or have already been bonded."

 

"Yeah," agreed Ron quickly. "The rest of the lot are just here for the signing of the contract and the reception."

Harry nodded and visibly relaxed allowing Hermione to come closer and fix his tie. She smiled at him before removing his glasses and cleaning them.

"Honestly, Harry. How you can see out of these things are beyond me," She spoke thickly and he could tell she was trying to talk through her tears.

 

"Thanks, 'Mione. I really appreciate it. I've always appreciated it. Don't cry..."

She sniffled once more and he sighed.

"Who's crying? I'm not crying. Why would I be crying?"

 

"Cause Harry's marrying that git, Malfoy. I would be crying, but I've already had some refreshments from George," Ron said, making sure he whispered that last part only to Harry. The ravenette in turn elbowed him in the stomach, but sent him a grin all the same.

 

"Be honest, who looks better?" Harry asked as Hermione tried her best to spell his hair as flat as possible.

 

"No idea, mate."

"You, of course."

Ron and Hermione spoke at the same time. She glared at him before looking away and busying herself with trying stronger spells on his hair.

"He said be honest, 'Mione."

 

"I am being honest!"

 

"No you're not. I can tell, 'cause you won't even look me in the eyes." Ron chuckled before turning back to Harry. "He won't let us in the room. He has Zabini and Parkinson in there with him."

 

"Oh," said Harry looking down nervously. When another spell was sent to his hair and he caught a glimpse of bright pink in the mirror he shrieked. "'Mione, you know it isn't going to get any flatter and after it gets too saturated with spells they react with each other. Remember what happened during you and Ron's wedding."

 

"How was I supposed to know your hair was going to start singing?"

Ron and Harry laughed but Hermione just looked sheepish.

"I admit it wasn't your fault, it's a Potter thing, but still..." He lifted her hands and kissed the knuckles before turning to face Ron too. "Thank you though, really. Both of you."

 

Down the hallway in Malfoy Manor Draco stood in front of a mirror with his arms crossed and an almost permanent glare on his face.

 

"All I'm saying is that-"

 

"Father, I could care less what you're saying. Pansy why did you let him in here?"

 

"He said he just wanted to give you some fatherly-wisdom or something like that." She shrugged and Draco growled low in his throat.

 

"Alright then. Father, if you aren't here to tell me that my robes are immaculate, even for a Malfoy, then you can leave. You are not going to ruin this day for me." Draco smiled at himself in the mirror and fixed his own robes. He expected his father to turn and leave. What he didn't expect was for his father to take a deep breath and stand up a bit taller.

 

"Draco, your robes are immaculate, even for a Malfoy. Congratulations." Lucius turned and walked out of the room in a robe-flinging exit even Snape would have been proud of.

Blaise dropped the flute of champagne he had been sipping at for the last hour or so since he came into Draco's dressing room. Pansy's mouth was beginning to reach the floor.

"What the hell did he just say?" Pansy sputtered out as Blaise tried to regain his composure to no avail.

Draco was speechless. He turned back to the mirror and smiled. Today had to be the best day of his life, hands down.

"Draco, dear," said Pansy. "I think it's time for you to get married." And she watched as the grin grew even wider across his face.

 

"Who do you think is going to look better?" He asked trying to distract from his never-ending smile with his usual tone of voice.

 

"I designed the outfits to look the best  _together_ , darling." Draco smiled at her response.

 

"Thank you, Pansy. Blaise, let's go." He turned on the heel of his foot as Blaise opened the door and they headed down the corridor towards the back garden where the ceremony would be held.

 

Hermione explained the differences in Wizard weddings and muggle ones then the difference between both of them and bonding ceremonies before finally mentioning how all three were combined to best suit he and Draco.

"Your ceremony, for example, is set in a circle as opposed to a standard T format, because it allows the magic to flow freely and it keeps the immediate friends and family closer so that it can still feel like a familial affair instead of a public debacle."

 

"I still don't really understand it, but I guess it'll be fine. I'll only have to do this once, right?" He spoke sarcastically, but there was a small part of him that was really hoping Draco wasn't going to take this back.

The ceremonies began and everyone took their seats. The seats spiraled into an opening only wide enough for a ministry official and the two wizards who were to be married. Shacklebot stood waiting and on the musical signal both Harry and Draco spiraled into the center from opposite sides of the circle so that the audience was full involved. They reached Kingsley and smiled happily at him. He nodded, letting the men know it was time for it to begin.

Draco looked into Harry's glistening emerald green eyes and sneered, watching as a lopsided grin broke out across the other man's previously nervous face. Harry mouthed a thank you and when they were allowed, reached out to grip Malfoy's left hand with his right. They lifted their wands and touched the tips to each other.

Kingsley stepped closer and placed his wand on their joined hands before drawing what looked to be a figure 8 making a band of magic that tied the two together then he began speaking.

"We are gathered here today to join together the heir of the house of Malfoy with the head of houses Potter, Black and Lupin. House Malfoy do you accept this marriage?" He turned to Lucius and Narcissa who were now standing.

 

"Yes," they said in unison. "We do."

The magic's grip on the men's arms got tighter and they looked up into each other's wide eyes with gleeful smiles.

 

"Does anyone here believe that the connection we see before us is that of ill intent? The couple is now asked to share a few words with each other and those of us who were asked to share this day with you."

The two opened their mouths to speak at one time, but Harry's laughter broke the tension, which helped to make Draco's shoulders slightly less rigid. Harry chuckled again.

 

Malfoy manners and all that.

 

"Harry James Potter, how did we end up here? I distinctly remember you thinking I was a complete git in school."

 

"You  _are_  a complete git," broke in Harry.

 

"Now, now, Potter. You will have a turn," Draco said smirking at him before becoming completely sincere. "Harry...you snore. Your hair is a kneazle pit, on a good day. You slouch when you walk. You have a killer hero complex. You grind your teeth sometimes when you sleep and it wakes me up all night, but in the mornings you apologize. You straighten your back when it really matters. And you did at least  _try_  with your hair today. You saved me from fiends and fires in school and you walked into my life over 6 years ago when I needed to be saved again. I don't think I could ever thank you enough. If I told you I loved you every second of every day it still wouldn't show you how much I mean it."

 

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, I can honestly say that it's no secret that I've been obsessed with you since 6th year. I mean, all we did was spew insults at each other, but something about you always intrigued me."

 

"Oh great, you were into the rebellious bad boys?" asked Draco, causing the people viewing to chuckle.

 

"More like misunderstood mama's boys," Harry responded causing Draco to snort. "The first time I saw you, almost 6 years ago, was in the grey eyes and pale hair of a five year old who had lost his way. It was clear you were much more mature then, I think we both were. Otherwise this would have never happened. I'm no good with giving speeches, even after teaching for years. What I am good at is loving you, and loving our boys. I would ask you to marry me again if I could, but 'Mione said that it would get quite redundant after a while." He grinned and everyone let out small breaths of laughter even as Draco said:

 

"Oh, what does Granger-Weasley know? I'd marry you again in a heartbeat."

 

"Good to know," Harry said smiling at him as everyone else laughed and 'aww-ed' at their easy banter.

 

"Before we begin the shielding and bonding, is there anyone here who believes that these two should not be wed?" When no one spoke up Draco let tears spill down his cheeks as he smiled hugely for the first time in ages.

The group of immediate family and friends stood up and said a simple spell over the rest of the circle as a whole. The only people not immune to the shielding charm were those who weren't or had never been bonded.

 

"Draco look into Harry's eyes and repeat after me.  _I bond myself to you, Harry James Potter-"_

"I bond myself to you, Harry James Potter."

_"Of my own free mind, heart and body."_

"Of my own free mind, heart and body."

_"I bond my magic with yours."_

"I bond my magic with yours."

_"Forever."_

"Forever."

 

Kingsley swished his wand a few times in what looked to be light and feathered motions, but the magic that entwined their wrists tightened around Draco's arm before moving up to his ring finger and etching itself into his skin. Although his finger now looked red and raw he didn't look as though he had felt it at all.

 

"Now Harry, look into Draco's eyes and repeat after me.  _I bond myself to you, Draco Lucius Malfoy-"_

"I bond myself to you, Draco Lucius Malfoy."

_"Of my own free mind, heart and body."_

"Of my own free mind, heart and body."

_"I bond my magic with yours."_

"I bond my magic with yours."

_"Forever."_

"Forever."

 

He repeated the feathered motion again, this time causing the magic around Harry's wrist to seize up and move to his ring finger where it imprinted a series of ancient characters similar, but different to those on Draco's.

"Once you kiss the bond will be complete and the shield will be broken. You may now forge your forever."

They lowered their wands and instead grabbed each other's hands while they pulled into each other.

Draco leaned in almost hesitantly, but Harry moved forward quickly and captured Draco's lips with his. They felt the shield break and a hum of excitement shoot around them.

"Congratulations Mr. and Mr. Malfoy-Potter."

 

Now that the bonding was complete Draco's finger looked a lot less viciously red, but the characters glistened in metallic shades on each of their fingers, but it was pressed into their skins like a brand. Marking them with the others magic, Harry remembered.

He took a deep breath, but he still felt tension in his shoulders. He was relaxed, he knew it, but some part of him... He looked over at Draco and smiled.

"Relax, Dray. You're making me tense," He said laughing as Draco looked surprised.

 

"I can  _feel..._ " He turned to Shacklebot looking a bit freaked out while everyone else was lining up for pictures. "This- Why can I- Why can we- I can feel his emotions. That isn't supposed to happen..."

 

Kingsley smiled at him.

 

"You're right. It only happens with perfect bonds. When the two were made for one another. You're the only one in about a century." He turned away laughing and began walking away. "Congratulations, again."

They turned to each other with grins.

"Sounds like tonight is going to be fun..."

 

"Scorp and Teddy are going to Weasley's?"

 

"Yes."

 

"How soon can they leave?"

 

"If we leave now, 'Mione will find them."

 

"When did you get so smart?"

They both grabbed their necklaces which were portkeys designed by Pansy to take them to their honeymoon spot and still work with their outfits. Harry made eye contact with Hemione as he left and saw her smiling with tears in her eyes, before there was a tugging in his gut and he landed on soft white sand.

"I have no idea where we are, love, but there is a mansion here that isn't mine and I'm impressed," Draco said pulling Harry along behind him to the huge beach house standing on partial stilts that stood directly in the ocean.

 

"It's mine," said Harry laughing. "One of the Potter estates. Kept up and running by freed elves who prefer to work."

They reached the front steps and Harry performed a lot more complex unlocking spells than just 'alohamora' before the door finally clicked and they were able to enter the huge entryway freely. Their bags had already been delivered and unpacked by the elves.

"A week to ourselves," started the blonde as he stood behind his husband and kissed down Harry's neck, removing clothes along the way. "Whatever shall we do?"

 

"I think we could come up with something," said Harry turning to face him and peeling off the other man's clothes as well. Once they were undressed they began grinding their hips into each other with such unadulterated need.

 

"Let's go to the bedroom." After kicking open a few doors Draco found one of the many master bedrooms and lifted Harry onto the bed before laying with his elbows on either side and lifting himself slightly so that his prick was barely brushing the tip of Harry's.

 

"Is this the part where you take your time on me?" Harry asked with hooded eyes as he tried to press his hips up into Draco's to no avail.

 

"No. This is the part where I take you as many times as I like," Draco answered huskily before leaning down and taking the ravenette's bottom lip between his teeth and lightly tugging on it.

He let go before leaning in closer and captured Harry's lips in a bruising kiss. He stuck his tongue out as he dragged his mouth across Harry's exposed skin. From his neck to his collarbone to his chest, down his abs and each of his hips. He spent time biting and bruising Harry's hip bones until the man beneath him was achingly hard.

He gingerly lifted his husbands cock and stroked it a few times before licking a stripe up the shaft forcing the man to suck in a breath. He kissed and licked the tip a few times before sucking on his balls then licking up the shaft again.

 

"Dray- please..."

 

He sat back on his haunches and rubbed at his own hard cock while staring down at the dark haired man lain so wantonly before him.

 

"Please what?" Harry blushed and Draco smirked. "Oh, I almost forgot how much you like it when I'm demanding you around." He continued stroking himself and looked at Harry through lidded eyes as those green orbs stayed focused on his growing erection. "Okay then. Come over here and suck my cock, love. I want to see those big plump lips wrapped around me."

Harry turned over and crawled quickly to Draco. When the blonde let go and grabbed Harry's hair roughly, he couldn't help but groan in pleasure. He opened his mouth and let Draco lead his dick in and out before taking over. He let his tongue fall flat so that it would be easier for him to twist it around as he began bobbing on Draco's cock. He slurped happily then looked up into Draco's eyes somewhat seductively as he tried to take as much of him as he could.

Draco pulled him off and kissed him, making sure their tongues were able to rub together. He moved away and looked in both of the side tables for lube, but couldn't find any.

 

"Fuck, Dray, I'm so ready for you. Hurry up..."

 

"Lube?" He asked almost sarcastically.

 

"You're a wizard."

 

"Yeah, and you're the only one with great control over his wandless magic."

 

"Fine." Harry laid his head on the pillow and closed his eyes for a second before moving his knees apart and moaning as he lifted his ass into the air. "Done. Now please, Draco."

 

"Please, what?" Draco said positioning himself behind Harry on the bed.

 

"Please fuck me, Draco! Please."

 

"Bloody hell, I love it when you beg, Potter."

 

"That's Malfoy-Potter, now."

He plunged into Harry's hole and had to bite his lip to keep himself from screaming out and pounding into the tight heat that surrounded him.

"A-are you okay, love?"

 

"Ah yes. J-just move."

 

Draco pushed himself the rest of the way in slowly and allowed Harry a moment to adjust before he pulled out and slipped back in with one quick motion. The room was filled with the sounds of their moans and their sweat-slicked bodies as they moved back and forth together.

"Please more! Make love to me, Draco," Harry yelped out as he pushed his hips back in time with Draco and ground them as well causing the blonde to take a sharp intake of breath.

Draco reached around and grasped Harry quivering cock and began stroking it with one hand while the other moved up to play with the ravenette's pert nipple.

 

"Y-yeah. Draco, I'm so close. Please. Come inside me... Please."

 

Draco continued pumping but at a slower pace now.

 

"But, Harry- with the bond, we don't know what'll happen..."

 

"I don't care, Dray. Please. As long as I've got you, everything will be okay. I know it, just please, I want to feel you spill your load inside me..."

 

"Merlin, Harry! I love you so much," Draco called biting into Harry's shoulder as he sped up his thrusts again, on the edge.

 

"I love you too, Draco. S-so much!"

At the sound of Harry's confession of love he sped up his strokes on the emerald eyed man's cock. In moments, the physical feelings of pleasure paired with that of their emotional feelings of pleasure causing them both to come undone.

They fell over and Harry muttered a quick cleaning charm before Draco through a loose sheet over them. He laid behind Harry and wrapped his arms around the man's waist, placing his chin on his shoulder.

 

"I love you, Harry."

 

"I love you too, Draco."

 

It was still only mid-afternoon, but that's how they fell asleep.

Wrapped in each other's arms with only one word in their heads.

 

_Mine._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the end of book one of the "Their Family" trilogy


End file.
